Leaky Pipes
by beccabecalm
Summary: Peeta noticed Katniss as soon as she moved into his apartment complex but hasn't known how to approach her. When she asks him over to fix the broken pipes in her kitchen he soon realises that she might have an ulterior motive.
1. Chapter 1

Katniss had moved into my apartment complex just over three weeks ago and I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her since.

She was fresh out of college and had just started working at the hospital three blocks away. As far as I knew she was supporting herself, I'd never once seen her parents visit but there had been a younger blonde woman who had shown up and dragged her out for dinner a couple of times. But outside of this woman, who I assumed was her sister visiting, Katniss seemed like kind of a loner. She worked long hours, sure, but never seemed to go out to meet friends for coffee and didn't seem to have people over. Especially men, not that I had been looking out for that.

I wasn't exactly sure how we had started talking the other day but we ended up at a local coffee shop getting to know each other. The conversation ended with me agreeing to come by and take a look at the pipes under the sink. My dad had taught me how to fix sinks after the pipes at the bakery we owned had degraded through wear and tear when I was a kid. He said I had a knack for it and I even started an apprenticeship before dropping out of college to join the police academy instead.

So here I was, lying on my back in her kitchen and attempting to replace a worn pipe for the first time in seven years. It was a slow process and I could sense her getting agitated from across the kitchen. She was perched at the high counter in the centre of the room wearing nothing but a white camisole and an indecently small pair of cotton shorts. Her legs were crossed at the ankle and she jiggled her leg quickly, the flesh at the top of her thigh wiggling enthusiastically with the movement and making a stark contrast against the rest of her toned legs.

My eyes were drawn to that small piece of wobbling skin and my cock twitched at the thought of running my tongue along it and sucking it into my mouth. I quickly chased the thought away. She was a nice girl and I didn't want to scare her away by lying on her floor with a boner.

"Is this going to take much longer, Peeta?" She asked suddenly and my eyes flew away from the top of her thighs quickly.

I carefully sat up to get a better look at her as I spoke. "Hopefully not too much longer, just need to fit the washers properly and then tighten it up."

She nodded and then returned to the newspaper in front of her, her leg taking up the quick movements from before.

I finished up as quickly as possible and moved out from under the sink. As I was packing up my tools I heard Katniss sigh loudly and I looked towards her with a frown.

"You ok?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Just been really stressed lately. Not entirely sure what I'm doing with myself."

"Well if you ever need anyone to talk to…"

"I don't need someone to talk to." She said, throwing the newspaper closed. She sighed again and uncrossed her legs slowly, swivelling in her seat to face me fully. I stood up and leant against the counter behind me. "We had a good time the other day, right? At the coffee place?"

"Yeah, sure." I replied with a smile.

"And you like me, right?"

"You seem like a nice girl." I said carefully.

She nodded again. "And unless I'm reading you entirely wrong you think I'm attractive, right?"

My mouth dropped open in shock and I closed it dumbly before nodding quickly.

"Well like I said…I've been feeling really stressed lately and nothing I do by myself seems to be working."

"By yourself?" I interrupt quickly. I could feel my heart thundering in my chest as I took in the meaning of her words. The thought of Katniss touching herself, of fucking herself with her own fingers behind the wall that separated our bedrooms made my cock throb again but this time I didn't fight it.

"Yeah." She said lowly, her tone dropping significantly and becoming almost breathless. I noticed the way her fingers were playing the edge of her shorts and my eyes were trapped to the slow movement. "It doesn't matter what I think about or how hard I come…I just can't seem to snap out of this funk I'm in."

"Are you asking me to…do you want me to help you?" I asked, frowning as I stumbled over my words.

I couldn't believe my luck. I wasn't the type of guy that got propositioned like this, especially not by girls as attractive as Katniss. It's not that I was unattractive, I kept in shape and took care of myself but outside of a couple of serious girlfriends I never seemed to get much attention from women.

"I like you Peeta." She said simply. "And you like me. I'm pretty sure we both want this…"

I nodded quickly again and she smiled. Katniss rose to her feet and walked towards me, her hips swaying with her movement. The shorts had slipped lower on her and I could see the tanned skin of her hipbone peeking out from beneath her camisole. She stopped in front of me and smiled shyly.

Her bright grey eyes were clear as they dropped from my eyes to my lips and I watched in amazement as she rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to mine softly. The kiss was gentle and chaste and when it ended I opened my eyes to find Katniss biting her lower lip. For some reason this was what got to me the most and I leant down to capture her lips once again.

There was nothing gentle or chaste about this kiss.

I grabbed her hips and pulled her firmly against me, moaning low in my throat when her stomach pressed against the growing bulge of my erection. She moaned in return and her lips opened beneath mine, her tongue running along the length of mine before she sucked it gently between her lips. Her hands wound around my neck and her fingers threaded through my hair as she pulled me as close to her as possible.

I don't know how long we stood there kissing but soon Katniss' fingers were running down my back and up beneath my t-shirt, pushing the fabric out of her way as she clutched at the skin of my back. I pulled back to separate our lips and she quickly pushed my shirt up and over my head, letting it drop carelessly to the floor next to us. Her eyes dropped to my chest and her fingers ran through the light hair on my chest.

"I've missed this." She muttered before reaching down to pull her camisole off too. "I've missed being with someone else."

Her breasts were perky and her nipples were straining outwards, showcasing her obvious arousal. She pressed a quick kiss to my chest before bringing her hand back up around the back of my neck and forcing my head to her chest. My mouth closed around one peak as I brought a hand to squeeze the other mound. She sighed happily as I sucked hard before letting her nipple go with a loud pop. My cock was getting painful as it was constrained in the heavy denim of my jeans and I brought my free hand to undo my belt, pushing the fabric apart and fishing my cock out of the top of my boxers.

My mouth continued to work over Katniss' tits as I started to run my hand up and down my dick, gathering the precum on my palm before wrapping it around the shaft and pumping it slowly. She seemed to notice the movement and circled her hand around my own before removing it altogether and taking over the motion herself. Her palm was softer than my own and she certainly had a good technique as she varied the speed and motion of her hand as she played with my cock. Her other hand found its way into my underwear and cupped my balls, her thumbs rolled across them playfully and I grunted loudly around her tit.

"I want you to fuck me." She said against the top of my head and I looked up at her. Her cheeks were flushed and sweat was beginning to dot her hairline.

She took a step away from me and shoved her shorts down her legs, baring her naked body to me. Her crotch was neatly trimmed and the short dark hairs looked like they would be soft to touch. As I stared at her pussy I pushed my jeans and boxers down and stood in front of her, my cock straining upwards and resting against my abdomen. Katniss grinned as she took in my erection for the first time and she stepped towards me again, her hand reaching out to cup my shaft again. Her tongue shot out and wet her bottom lip slowly as she watched her hand pumping up and down my dick. I couldn't stop the loud groan that escaped me and she grinned up at me again.

"Let's go to my room." Katniss said suddenly, her hand briefly dropping and cupping my balls again before she turned and walked quickly to her bedroom. I followed dutifully behind her, my eyes fixed to the curve of her ass.

Her room was fairly bare and I noticed several unpacked boxes shoved into the corner near the door to her ensuite.

She dropped onto the comforter and held a hand out to me. I took it quickly and was pulled to sit next to her at the foot of the bed. She cupped my jaw briefly and brought our lips back together. I could feel desire coursing thick through my veins and brought a hand to rest on her bare hipbone before trailing my fingers down between her thighs. I added a small amount of pressure and ran my fingers through her slit, testing the wetness that had gathered there. I brought my middle finger to circle her clit and she pulled away from our kiss with a gasp. Her hips started to thrust against my hand and I slipped my fingers down to press two inside her.

She was tight and hot around my fingers and my cock started throbbing as I thought about entering her for the first time. Her hand circled my wrist suddenly and she pulled my hand away from her. I opened my mouth to protest but then she was scooting back further up the bed and reaching into her bedside drawer. She grabbed a condom and opened it quickly before leaning down to where I still sat at the end of the bed. Her hand pumped my erection a couple of times before rolling the latex circle down to the base of my shaft.

"How do you want me?" I asked quietly and she laughed softly as she considered my question.

"I want to be on top." She answered quickly. "I'll come faster."

"Fuck." I muttered as she pushed me onto my back.

She threw her leg over my hips and I grabbed my cock, lining it up with her entrance before she pushed down and enveloped me to the hilt. Her hands were resting on my stomach and mine moved to grip her thighs as she began to move on top of me. I couldn't believe how confidently she moved above me. Her back was arched and her head was thrown back as she let pleasure consume her.

Her movements were steadily gaining speed as she bounced on my dick and I could hear her breathing becoming more shallow. The feel of her sliding up and down my cock was pulling me closer to my orgasm and I groaned loudly as she raised herself until only the head of my cock was inside her and squeezed her muscles around me before lowering herself down onto me again.

"I'm close." She said suddenly, her fingers digging in my stomach harder. She brought one hand to rub her clit as her movements became jerkier and she altered her movement to rock back and forth instead of bouncing quickly on top of me.

"So am I." I said, watching her fingers as she manipulated her clit perfectly, my eyes then falling to watch as my cock entered her over and over.

I knew she was coming when she gasped loudly and threw her head back and it was confirmed as her internal muscles started to milk my cock. I forced myself to look away from her pussy and her fingers playing against it and moved my hands to grip her hips tightly. I rolled the two of us over and grabbed her knee, looping it over my elbow before pushing it up towards her shoulders. My thrusts into her were lacking finesse and I didn't last much longer before my orgasm was ripping through me and I was emptying myself into the condom.

We stayed like that for a few minutes as we both caught our breath and then I moved off of her and disposed of the condom before rolling onto my back and lying next to her. She was lying with her eyes closed and had a small smile on her face.

"Do you feel better now?" I asked quietly, bringing my hand to stroke the soft skin of her stomach.

"Much better." She replied lazily, grabbing my hand in her own and running her thumb over the back of my hand.

"Please tell me we can do that again." I said.

"Oh definitely. It was exactly what I needed."

"I'm glad I could be of service." I muttered, leaning over and pressing a kiss to the skin between her breasts.

"I'm not looking for anything serious." She said suddenly.

"But we can keep doing this?" I asked and she nodded quickly in reply.

"I can cope with that." I said quietly, even though I knew it was a lie.


	2. Pizza and Netflix

After the night I spent with Katniss a week ago I had barely seen her around the building. We had a brief exchange of pleasantries at the communal post box which was not as awkward as I was expecting it to be. She seemed to be working much longer hours than usual and I was selfishly hoping she might need some more stress relief very soon.

I was travelling home from a late shift, a large Styrofoam coffee cup in hand and plans to collapse on the sofa and watch some Netflix before jerking off and going to sleep. After grabbing some leftover pizza from the fridge I settled on the couch and booted up my laptop, syncing it to my flat screen and scrolling through the choices. I kicked off my heavy work boots and reclined across the cushions, choosing to watch some comedy show.

A soft knocking at my front door distracted me from the amusing sitcom and I dropped the pizza box onto my coffee table as I checked my watch. It was almost 2am and I rubbed my eyes forcefully before running a hand through my hair and rushing to answer the door. I briefly checked the peephole and smiled to myself when I saw Katniss stood outside. I opened the door quickly and took in her slim form, currently dressed in unflattering blue scrubs with her hair in a messy ponytail.

"Hey." I greeted softly, keeping my voice low due to the lateness of the hour.

"Hey." She repeated with a smile. "Sorry for dropping by like this but I just heard you come home and realised I haven't seen you for a week."

"Do you…uh…do you wanna come in?"

She nodded and I stepped aside to let her into my apartment. The basic layout of our apartments were the same and she easily made her way into my lounge area where she hovered awkwardly next to my couch.

"You can sit down if you want." I said, walking past her and dropping into the centre of the couch. She hesitated for a moment but then dropped onto the seat next to me, our thighs were pressed together tightly and Katniss crossed one leg over the other, her foot coming to rest against my shin. Her toes rubbed the skin there gently and the small gesture of intimacy made my heart race. I noticed she was only wearing her socks and smiled when I realised that she must have rushed straight over to see me.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, I brought my arm to rest on the back of the couch behind her and she leant heavily into my frame. My hand fell to rest on her shoulder and I started wondering how to turn the conversation towards finding out what she was doing here. There was only one reason I could think of that would explain why she would come over here in the middle of the night. I was almost certain that she wanted to hook up again. The thought alone caused my cock to jerk in my pants.

"So how are those pipes working out?" I asked, immediately frowning at my own ridiculousness.

She chuckled softly. "They're good thanks." She paused for a moment and brought a hand to rest on my thigh. "Everything is flowing nicely now." Her hand squeezed just above my knee and my breath hitched.

"Is that so?" I asked quietly, turning my head and leaning down to press a kiss to her neck. She shivered against me and started running her hand up and down my thigh, her fingers getting dangerously close to my crotch before travelling down to my knee.

"Mmhmm." She muttered slowly.

Katniss turned in my arms and pressed her lips to mine firmly. She sucked on my bottom lip and then nipped it with her teeth. I gasped into her mouth and she soothed the area with her tongue before pressing it into my mouth. All I could think about was what a good kisser she was and how she knew exactly how to make desire coarse thick through my veins.

She threw her leg over my hip and ground her hips down into crotch where my dick was starting to throb uncomfortably. I didn't understand how she could have such an immediate effect on me but I knew I wouldn't be able to put up with the pressure surrounding my dick for much longer. She pulled away from my lips and trailed kisses down my jaw and neck until she drew the skin of my collar bone between her teeth and bit down gently.

"Do you want to be on top again?" I asked, breath hitching as I spoke.

She pulled away from my neck and bit her lip as she appeared to ponder my question. Her fingers were fast as she unbuttoned the shirt of my uniform. She groaned in frustration when she realised I was wearing a t-shirt underneath and shoved the shirt over my shoulders before grabbing the hem of my undershirt and pushing it up out of her way. Her mouth dipped to lick my nipple and I shuddered beneath her, my cock twitching in my work pants again.

"I kind of want to suck you off." She said against the skin of my stomach as she ran her tongue down to my bellybutton. It dipped inside briefly before she ran it around the edge. My hands were resting on her ass to hold her steady as she was almost completely doubled over in order to allow her to bite and suck at the skin of my abdomen.

I groaned as she moved to kneel in front of me, her hands quickly unbuttoning my pants and pulling them and my boxers down to midthigh. My cock sprung free and hit me in the stomach, the tip already leaking with precum. I lifted my hips and pushed my pants down from around my ass as I shimmied further down the couch and relaxed as Katniss set to work on me.

Her hand circled my hot shaft and pumped a few times before she lowered her mouth over the head of my dick; her tongue immediately sought out my glans and flicked it firmly with the tip.

"Oh fuck." I said, throwing my head back to rest against the cushion behind me.

She hummed around me and I brought my hand to the back of her head, not exactly guiding her movement but holding her in place so my cock was deep inside her mouth. I felt her swallow around me and then she was taking me even deeper, the sensitive tip of my dick hitting the back of her throat. She held me there for several seconds and swallowed around me again and I felt my climax approaching. It was as if Katniss could sense that I was about to finish and she pulled off of me entirely, sucking firmly as she did.

"Are you gonna come?" she asked, a long string of spit connecting her bottom lip to the head of my cock. She gathered it in her hand and began pumping her fist up and down my shaft quickly.

"Yeah…I'm pretty close." I replied eventually. I frowned slightly, I had never had a problem holding my load before but now I could barely make it through foreplay. I guess it didn't help that before last week I hadn't gotten laid for a while and there was also the fact that Katniss sucked cock like a pro. She simply nodded in reply and then lowered her mouth back to me. Instead of enveloping my cock her mouth closed around one of my balls and she sucked it firmly before releasing it with a loud pop.

"Holy shit." I said as she repeated the movement on the other one, her hand still steadily working its way up and down my shaft.

"You can come in my mouth if you want." She said quietly as she brought my cock back to her mouth and started rising and falling on it in a steady pace. I looked down and could see her cheeks hollowed with her effort. Her movements were dragging me closer to my climax but I clenched my jaw and tried to prevent it for as long as possible. Her tongue was almost cruel in the way it would tease the sensitive head of my cock briefly before she took it away again.

My hand found the back of her head again and rested on it gently. I grabbed her ponytail and pulled on it, effectively forcing her to move with renewed vigour. My cock was slipping noisily in and out of her mouth and her hand surrounded the base, squeezing tightly every time her lips slid down and met her fingers. I pulled her hair again as my fingers spasmed and Katniss moaned loudly around my cock. I came as soon as I felt the vibrations surround me. I could feel her swallowing my come as it spurted into her mouth and she didn't pull off of me until I was done. My dick was already starting to soften by the time she let it fall from her mouth.

She leant back and grabbed the open bottle of water from my coffee table and took a couple of deep swigs before turning back to me again. I opened my arms to her and she climbed on top of me again, her ass landing on my flaccid cock and I hissed slightly as the material of her scrubs rubbed against the sensitive head.

I cupped the round flesh of her ass and kneaded it firmly. She leant forward and captured my lips again, quickly thrusting her tongue into my mouth. We kissed furiously for a long time and I was shocked to feel my dick start to respond to her again.

I grabbed her shoulder and pushed her mouth away from mine. "Can I lick your pussy?" I breathed against her mouth.

"Oh god yes." She replied quickly and I lifted her from on top of me and dropped her heavily onto the couch. I rose to my knees and knelt on the sofa, pulling her loose scrubs from her body and dropping them on the floor. Her small panties soon followed and she pulled her shirt over her head and threw it on the ground too. My hands ran up her soft stomach and then around to her back, I undid her plain black bra easily and threw that away from us too.

I brought my mouth to her nipple and sucked the peak wetly before circling it with the tip of my tongue and drawing it back into my mouth.

She put her hand on my forehead and pushed me away from her skin. "Are you ok?" I asked and she nodded quickly in reply.

"I don't need any more foreplay." She said quickly and she lifted her hips to emphasise her point. "I'm already wet from sucking your cock so just go for it."

I stared at her in shock for a moment but then she raised her eyebrows playfully and pushed my head towards her crotch with a smile. I took her hint and kissed my way down her stomach. My eyes were drawn to the tan hipbones that I had been unable to stop thinking about for the entire week since we had last hooked up and I shifted my attention and pressed a soft kiss to the slightly protruding bone. Katniss sighed happily and I playfully bit the skin beneath my lips. She moaned softly and her thighs parted further, one of her legs rose to rest over the top of my shoulder and I brought a hand to rest at the top of her thigh.

The smell of her was enticing and I pressed my face into the wet slit in front of me, my nose brushing her clit and causing a loud gasp to escape her. I sucked her lips into my mouth before releasing them quickly. I repeated this motion a couple of times before bringing the fingers of my left hand to spread her labia.

The tip of my tongue flicked against her clit and she brought her hand to thread through my hair. She held me tightly against her and I sucked her clit between my lips, my tongue continuing to flick against the small beaded flesh. The taste of her pussy was amazing and I knew that I could quickly get addicted to it if she let me.

I pulled back slightly and looked up at her. Her free hand was cupping her breast and pulling on the nipple slightly. She was biting her bottom lip again and I dove back into her wet folds with new enthusiasm.

My tongue dipped inside her as my thumb circled her clit quickly and Katniss started to thrust her hips up against my face.

"You feel amazing." She moaned loudly, her fingers tightening in my hair and pulling until my scalp started to ache.

I brought my tongue from inside her and replaced it quickly with two fingers. I thrust them quickly and curled them slightly at the ends allowing me to rub her front wall rhythmically.

"You taste amazing." I replied, bringing my mouth back to her hipbone which I bit softly again. She groaned loudly again as my fingers started thrusting inside her at a faster pace.

My tongue found her clit again and flicked against it quickly. "Are you gonna come?"

"Yes." She answered quickly and my cock gave a twitch at the breathy tone of her voice. "Oh god Peeta, I'm gonna come."

I thrust my fingers as fast as I could and sucked Katniss' clit between my lips again. Her hips were thrusting almost wildly against my face and I moved my free hand down to the inside of her thigh to hold her still. She moaned my name loudly several times as she started convulsing around my fingers and a selfish part of me wished I could have felt her come around my cock again.

I let my fingers continue to thrust lazily through her orgasm and then pulled them from inside her as she slumped into the couch beneath her and I placed one final kiss to her folds before moving away from her and rising to my knees between her legs again.

Her hand trailed from the back of my head and down my chest until she was playing with the dark blond line of hair beneath my belly button. I noticed the way her eyes were drawn to my half hard cock and she licked her lips.

"Do you…uh…do you think you could get hard again?" She asked, cupping my dick and pumping it from base to tip.

I watched the movement of her hand and brought one of my palms to cup one of her tits.

"Yeah." I breathed lowly, thrusting my cock into her hand steadily.

"Good." She replied easily. "Because I want you to fuck me again."

My eyes fell closed as my dick twitched in her hand and I lowered my body down to rest on top of her. The head of my cock hit her clit and she gasped loudly. I leant over to my coffee table and grabbed my wallet. I took the condom that I kept in it and rolled it down my cock quickly. After pinching the tip I pressed my length inside her and started to thrust slowly into her, Katniss' hips rocked up into mine and she looped her legs high around my waist.

"I've started taking birth control." She muttered against my shoulder, peppering a series of kisses up my neck and jaw until she was at the corner of my lips.

"Really?" I asked, losing the rhythm of my thrusting slightly and instead trying to press harder into Katniss as she lowered her hands to my hips to guide me again.

"Yeah." She sighed in reply. "You're clean right?"

I hummed positively in reply.

"Good. Because I want to feel you come inside me the next time we do this."

I scrunched my eyes closed at the thought of feeling her tight wet walls surround me without the latex barrier between us and felt my resolve slipping. Katniss was squeezing her muscles around me again and the sounds of our bodies meeting wetly was pushing me closer to my climax.

"I really like your cock." She said suddenly, bringing a hand to squeeze my balls.

"I'm gonna come." I said suddenly, my fast approaching orgasm taking me by surprise and my hips lost their rhythm again as I thrust quickly into Katniss' inviting pussy. "Are you close?" I asked hopefully, dragging my hand from her hip and pressing my thumb to her clit.

She batted my hand away and shook her head. "No." She said with a sad smile. "But you can eat me out again after you come if you want."

I nodded and then let my orgasm tear through me, my hips thrust with each spurt of come and then I slumped against Katniss' supple body. Her arms moved to envelop me in a hug and she pressed a kiss to my temple.

"Can you give me a minute?" I murmured into the skin of her shoulder, licking the sweat that had gathered at the base of her throat.

"Take your time." She replied quietly, her fingertips running up and down my spine and causing me to shiver in her embrace. "We have all night."

**A/N - Plot starts to pick up in the next chapter, I promise! Well, slightly, it's still going to be mainly PWP.**


	3. This Feels Like Jealousy

Ever since Katniss had shown up at my door in the middle of the night four days ago she had disappeared again. When I suggested she stay the night the sated smile fell from her face and she grabbed her clothes and dressed quickly before rushing back over to her own place.

Over the last few days I hadn't seen or heard her entering the building and jus assumed her hours at the hospital had increased again. We had, however, exchanged numbers before she ran out on me, and I had been texting her a couple of times a day in order to get to know her better. She always replied and even sent a few flirty messages my way. At least I think she was flirting, I didn't want to get my hopes up.

But today when I had text her and invited her over to my place she hadn't text me back. I finished my shift and drove home, surprised to see her car in the parking lot.

After arriving on our floor I headed straight to her door and knocked loudly. It was almost seven and I was surprised when Katniss answered the door in a knee length emerald green dress. Her hair was curled loosely and her face was glowing, her deep grey eyes emphasised by the dark makeup surrounding them.

"Oh!" she said, her mouth falling open in surprise. "Hey, Peeta…I wasn't expecting to see you."

"Hey. Is this a bad time?" I asked, my eyes drawn to the hemline of her dress.

"I'm about to head out actually. I'm having dinner with someone."

As if on cue the elevator at the end of the hall opened and a tall guy dressed in a suit walked towards us with purpose. He awkwardly lingered next to me for several seconds before turning and facing Katniss with a smile.

"Hey Katniss, ready to go?" His voice was deep and oozed confidence.

"Yes." She answered, breaking her eye contact with me and facing him instead. "This is my neighbour, Peeta." She added with a vague gesture to me.

"Good to meet you, man. I'm Darius, I work with Katniss."

I shook his hand when he offered it before making a lame excuse and going to my own apartment. After closing the door behind me I fell back onto the hard wood and clenched my fists tightly at my sides.

I knew that I had no reason to be angry. Katniss had made it very clear that whatever was happening between us was casual but she had also given me the impression that she wasn't looking for a relationship with anyone. Yet here she was going on a date with some guy from work.

A loud laugh in the hallway abruptly pulled me out of my thoughts and I banged my head backwards into the door twice. I knew it was pathetic to feel this way but I couldn't help it. A large part of me had been hoping that Katniss would eventually just let this friends with benefits thing evolve into a real relationship.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep things casual; I just wasn't wired that way, I needed to give every situation my all regardless of whether it's wise to or not. Apparently I had been too naïve. It's not as if Katniss would be the first girl to play with my head. After the way my mother had treated me throughout my childhood I almost expected it now. I should have known that I wasn't enough for her. I had never been enough for anyone.

I sighed and headed into my kitchen, my appetite was completely gone but I needed a drink. I grabbed the six-pack of beer from my fridge and threw myself onto the couch, cracking open the first can and finishing it within a minute.

The can crunched loudly in my hand and I dropped it onto the coffee table, grabbing the remote as I reclined back onto my couch. Seeing as I had been working pretty long hours lately I had three episodes of Game of Thrones to catch up on so I was able to distract myself fairly efficiently for a while.

About halfway through the second episode there was a graphic sex scene and I immediately started thinking about Katniss again. I had polished off another three beers and my head was starting to feel heavy with a combination of alcohol, tiredness and anger. Without giving it too much thought I grabbed my phone and sent a text to Katniss.

_It's too bad you had to go out tonight. I was planning on bending you over my couch and fucking your tight hot pussy_

I dropped my phone onto my chest and smiled to myself. The thought of actually bending Katniss over and thrusting into her caused my dick to stir in my pants and I sighed deeply. I wasn't in the mood to jerk off just yet so I carried on watching TV. When the episode ended I checked my cell phone and she hadn't replied, that wasn't very surprising considering where she was and the fact that she had been ignoring me all day but right now it pissed me off.

Throughout the course of the next episode I text her several more times.

_All I can think about is you sitting on my face and riding my tongue_

_I've made myself come every day thinking about tasting you_

_I want to lick your sweet pussy and feel you come on my tongue_

_My cock is hard and I'm stroking it thinking about your amazing body_

_I want to flip your dress and up and shove my cock inside you so you can ride me again_

_All I can think about is filling your pussy with my come_

I was lifting my phone to text her again when I was interrupted by a loud banging at my front door. I paused the TV, grabbed a beer and threw the door open, unsurprised to find Katniss stood in front of me looking livid.

"What's up?" I said when she remained silent.

"Are you fucking kidding me!" She said loudly, shoving me in the chest and causing me to stumble backwards slightly. "That's all you have to say after all the shit you've been sending me?"

"Oh so you were getting my messages." I said in mock surprise, taking a long swig of beer from the can in my hand. "I wasn't sure if you had been since you never replied."

"So what did you expect me to say exactly? I was on a fucking date!"

"Exactly! You've slept with me twice in the last two weeks and tell me you just want to keep it casual and then you bring some fucking asshole here who you actually want to date…"

"So you're jealous."

"I'm not jealous." I said quickly, downing the rest of my beer but maintaining eye contact with her.

We both knew it wasn't true. Her hair was no longer perfectly curled to hang around her shoulders but looked slightly frazzled and her chest had flushed to a deep red with her anger.

It was the exact same colour that it turned to when I was buried inside her and my cock twitched at the thought.

"You are but that's fine. All I could think about all night was the look on your face when Darius showed up and I had a really shitty night."

"Oh you had a shitty night? I had a shitty fucking night! All I could think about was whether you were going to bring that jackass back here and fuck him."

She laughed bitterly. "Well that wasn't going to happen."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. Really." Katniss ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "Because all I've been able to think about since I saw you earlier was what a good time I had the other night. And then you started sending me all those texts and I knew that I would be back here by the end of the night hoping that you would do everything you said you were thinking about."

My mouth dropped open in shock and I stared at her dumbly.

"Do you want specifics?" She continued, stepping inside my apartment and closing the door behind her. "Your first text really pissed me off…but then you started talking about me sitting on your face and that you'd been getting yourself off thinking about eating me out and I started to get really turned on."

I still didn't know what to say and continued to stare at her in silence.

"So I was going to come home and fuck myself with my vibrator…"

"Holy shit." I muttered quietly, mainly to myself and Katniss smiled in reply.

"And then I thought…Peeta is sat here in his apartment and he wants me to come on his face and on his cock and I'm…"

I couldn't take it anymore and I rose to my feet and rushed towards her. My hand cupped the back of her head and dragged her lips to mine. She parted them straight away and I pressed my tongue deep into her, dragging it along the roof of her mouth and tasting her thoroughly.

We fell heavily into the door behind her and I grabbed her leg and brought it to loop around my hip. She ground herself against my dick and I realised that watching her get agitated had turned me on. I thrust against her several times and continued kissing her furiously. Her hands ran up my back and into my hair and she pulled my head forcefully away from her.

"You still want me?" She gasped, rubbing herself firmly against my cock.

"Of course I do…I can't stop thinking about you."

"No…don't say stuff like that…not now. You should already have me bent over the back of your couch."

I grabbed her thighs just under her ass and hoisted her into my arms; her legs wound around my waist and carried her over to the couch. I dropped her so she was perched on the back of the sofa and ran my hand round to the front of her dress. I flipped it up out of my way and brought my hand to cup her crotch. A loud gasp escaped me as my fingers were immediately coated in her wetness. I pressed two fingers into her slit and dragged them up to her clit, circling it quickly as my mouth started trailing kisses down her neck.

"Where are your panties?" I groaned against the skin of her collarbone as her hands found the button of my pants and opened them quickly, fishing out my cock and pumping it in her fist.

"Eugh…They got ruined when I read your texts." She replied, grabbing my pants and shoving them down to my ankles.

"My texts made you wet?"

I shoved two fingers inside her and she groaned loudly against my neck, I curled my fingers and started thrusting them into her quickly. I could hear my palm slapping against her forcefully and she bit at my neck so hard that I knew she would leave a mark there.

"I was fucking soaked." She said, cupping my balls in one palm and rolling her thumb across them. "I almost had to go to the bathroom to get myself off just so I could sit in that restaurant and try to have a normal conversation."

Her sharp reminder of where she had been earlier this evening made something inside me snap and I pulled my fingers out of her warmth quickly. She opened her mouth to complain but simply then shrieked in delight as I cupped her hips and flipped her over so her stomach was against the back of my couch.

She arched her back and rubbed her ass against my cock rhythmically. I couldn't cope without being inside her anymore so I grabbed my dick and pumped it several times quickly. I dragged the head through her slit and slapped it against her clit causing her to arch back further as she moaned my name loudly.

"Fuck me…please Peeta…"

"Tell me you want me." I said lowly, leaning over her back and biting her shoulder as I started thrusting against her, my cock running up and down her slit and getting coated in her wetness.

I didn't know where this was coming from. I'd never been this way before and no one had ever made me lose control the way she was.

"I want you." She replied quickly, attempting to reach back to grab my cock and guide it inside her. I stopped her movements by circling my fingers around her wrist and forcing her hand down to her side again.

I grinned to myself and led my cock to her entrance. I pushed the head inside her and started a series of quick shallow thrusts. Katniss groaned in frustration and tried to thrust back against me. I chuckled softly and pulled out of her.

"No." She groaned in frustration. "Don't tease me."

I dropped to my knees behind her and released her hand, instead cupping both her ass cheeks and spreading them in front of me. I thrust my tongue into her slit and licked a wet trail from her clit to her entrance before thrusting it inside her.

"I'm not teasing you." I said when I removed my tongue from inside her and replaced them with two of my fingers. I flicked my tongue quickly against her clit several times before leaning back again. "Tell me more about what you want me to do to you."

She groaned again and tried to thrust back against my face.

"No." I said forcefully, nipping at her clit with my teeth in chastisement. "You have to tell me or I won't let you come."

"So what do you want me to say?" She muttered and I smiled when I heard a distinct hitch in her voice.

"Hmmmmmm…" I moaned against her clit before sucking it between my lips briefly. "Tell me what you would have thought about if you'd gone home and fucked yourself tonight."

"It always starts the same way." She said slowly and I started thrusting my fingers inside her again to encourage her. "I think about coming home from work and you're sat on my couch…in your uniform…"

"You like my uniform?" I interrupted, bringing my thumb to her clit and rubbing it in smooth circles.

"Oh god…I didn't even know I had a thing for guys in uniform and then I kept seeing you around the building and all I could think about was what you could do to me after chaining me to the bedpost with your handcuffs."

I groaned loudly at the thought of shackling her to the bed and rewarded her confession with series of licks to her swollen clit, sucking her folds firmly as I pulled back again. I returned my thumb to her clit and continued rubbing it.

"Carry on." I said, slowing the speed of my thrusting fingers.

"Because my arms are tied up you kneel over me and make me suck your cock…you have such a nice cock Peeta and I can't believe I haven't told you that before."

"Keep going." I sucked her clit again and she whined loudly, pressing back against me. I allowed her to thrust against my face and fingers for a while and brought my hand down to stroke my cock slowly.

"Fuck me Peeta, please." She moaned, throwing her head down in front of her and whining loudly again. I could feel that she was getting close, her clit was throbbing against my tongue and her walls were starting to spasm around my fingers.

With one final lick to her clit I rose to my feet behind her and guided my cock inside her, thrusting in to the hilt and grabbing her hips to pull her flush against me. She came around my cock and I threw my head back in pleasure, holding myself still inside her and simply enjoying the strong contractions around my shaft. I couldn't believe how hot and wet she was and I groaned loudly, my hands tightening on her hips.

Katniss' body sagged beneath me heavily and she was panting against the pillows of my couch.

"Can I carry on?" I asked, leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to the centre of her back.

"Yes, please." She said breathlessly.

I straightened fully and started to thrust quickly against her. I could feel my climax fast approaching. Her words from earlier had me too worked up and the sound of my dick slipping easily in and out of her, coupled with the slapping of my balls against the top of her thighs wasn't helping.

"Are you sure I can come in you?"

"Oh god yes. Just keep going. Faster." She added with another high pitch whine.

My thrusts faltered slightly as I picked up speed and she brought a hand between her thighs.

Her fingers brushed my sac briefly before she started quickly circling her clit.

"Oh my god." She moaned, her other hand flying back to grab mine where it still gripped at her hips. I linked our fingers together and squeezed gently. "I'm coming again." She said suddenly, her hips jerking underneath me sporadically. "Come in me Peeta…please….I want to feel you come inside me."

"Oh fuck." I said loudly, my climax tearing through me at her words. The feeling of her clenching around me as I came was unbelievable and I felt like I was coming harder than I ever had before.

I collapsed against her, my hips still jerking randomly against her hips. After catching my breath again I lifted myself from on top of her and pulled my cock from inside her. I brought a hand to rub her lower back and leant back slightly to watch my come leaking from her swollen folds.

Katniss stayed slumped over the back of my couch, her breathing slowing down to a regular pace and I pulled my pants back up my legs, shoving my cock into my boxers and walking over into my kitchen. I pulled two glasses from a cupboard and poured us both a glass of water.

I collapsed on the couch and laughed softly, Katniss looked over at me from her awkward position and rose to her feet slowly. She pulled her clothes back on quickly, then leant over and pressed a soft kiss to my lips before walking towards my bathroom. She returned a few minutes later and took a seat next to me, downing her glass of water and thanking me for it.

"It wasn't a date earlier." She said suddenly.

"Looked like a date." I muttered but the anger I felt earlier when we had been talking about it was gone, replaced by a distinct feeling of superiority.

"Well ok…it was a date but that guy has been asking me out ever since I started working there and I finally got sick of it."

I nodded but stayed silent.

"I so guess I should thank you for those texts because it made it a hell of a lot easier to sabotage everything."

"So you won't be seeing him again?" I asked eventually.

"Oh god no…I'm not interested in anyone else right now."

"And you're just sleeping with me?"

She hummed positively. "I don't plan on sleeping with anyone else."

"Ok."

"Ok."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes before I plucked up the courage to speak again.

"I don't know what we're doing here." I muttered and I felt Katniss tense against me.

Katniss was silent for a long time. "We're having fun. Isn't that enough?" She asked finally.

It wasn't.

But I got the distinct feeling that if I pushed her any further tonight she would just end things on the spot. And the thought of that was unbearable. I barely knew her and I could feel myself falling for her more every time I saw her.

"I don't know." I replied honestly.

This was it. I steeled myself and prepared for her to angrily walk out on me.

But she didn't. Katniss smiled softly and ran a hand through my hair, tugging at an errant curl before pulling her hand away again.

"I'm not good at relationships...and I don't have the time right now to give you everything you deserve."

I looked towards her but she was avoiding my gaze, staring straight ahead at my TV instead as she ran the peak of her tongue over her full bottom lip.

"But I can give you this." She added quietly. "And I can promise I'm not doing this with anyone but you."

The fact that she was attempting to open up meant a lot to me. Because as vocal as she is in the heat of the moment, I knew that Katniss was the sort of girl who guards her feelings endlessly.

I smiled sadly. It wasn't enough, but I couldn't let her go. Not yet. Not when I could feel that we were on the brink of something else, whatever that ended up being. So I cupped her jaw and drew her lips to mine for a soft kiss. She exhaled through her nose and the air warmed my cheek before I pulled away.

We didn't say anything. We didn't need to.

"So I couldn't help but notice that Game of Thrones has been paused on your TV since I got here…any chance I could hang out and watch the end of this episode with you?"

Katniss was staring at the TV again as she spoke but she offered me a small glance as her voice lifted with her question.

I looked towards her and smiled. Her hair was ruined and her makeup was smeared across her face. I thought she looked beautiful. I wasn't sure why she was offering to hang out with me. It was probably pity. But there was a strange glint in her eye that I had never seen before and my chest swelled with hope before I could stop it.

I should have said no. I should have made it clear that I wasn't going to let her set these rules and then break them.

"Stay for as long as you want." I said quietly, picking up the remote and pressing play again.

I couldn't prevent the smile that formed when she slid her hand across the couch and threaded her fingers through mine, our palms fit together perfectly. But I couldn't let myself think like that. It hurt too much when I knew that she would have taken my hand without a second thought, probably assuming that it was offering me some sort of comfort after all but rejecting me.

But I wasn't reassured in the slightest. My heart was hammering in my chest and my throat was dry. It constricted painfully as I began to dread the moment that she would let go.


	4. Taking Control

I wasn't entirely sure of how to approach the subject.

My arrangement with Katniss was now a regular thing and we had seen each other at least three times a week for over a month. The sex was always great and Katniss wasn't shy about trying new positions but she was always the initiator in our encounters. It was always her who would call or text to arrange our hook ups and when I would try she would always decline. As I drive home from the precinct all I can think about was how to change that.

In the back of my mind I know that she works long hours and is more often than not exhausted when she refuses to come over to my place, needing to catch up on as much sleep as possible before her next ridiculously long shift. The fact that our arrangement was so uneven was infuriating. With everything being on her terms it's like I just sit around waiting for her and she knows it.

Tonight that was going to change. Fuck talking to her like I originally planned. I had been patient enough and nothing I said seemed to get through to her anyway. If I wanted more control I was going to take it and she would just have to deal with it.

The ride in the elevator up to our floor was brief and I took the time to unbutton the top of my shirt, exposing the top of my chest hair which Katniss seemed to enjoy touching when I was inside her. I dropped my backpack into my apartment and placed the hat from my uniform back on. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror opposite my front door and noticed that my jaw was clenched tightly. Good. Hopefully she would realise I meant business sooner rather than later.

I paused outside her door briefly and heard the muffled sound of her TV through the wood. I took a deep breath before pounding my fist loudly in the centre of the door in front of me. It opened a brief moment later and I was greeted by a very pissed off looking Katniss.

"Yes?" She said, her voice sharp and slightly unnerving.

Her bad mood encouraged me further and I decided to have a bit more fun than I originally planned to. "Miss Everdeen?" I asked, my voice as deep and commanding as when I was talking to a criminal.

She frowned at me and remained silent but I wasn't going to be so easily deterred. "Miss Katniss Everdeen?" I tried again.

"Yes?" She repeated eventually, grabbing both sides of her thick cardigan and drawing it closed across her body.

"I received an anonymous call about suspicious behaviour and I was wondering if you could answer some questions?"

She frowned again and her mouth opened in surprise. "Uh, yeah, sure." She replied, stepping aside and allowing me into her apartment. I walked over to her couch and sat down, drawing my left leg across my other and making myself comfortable. Clearly I had taken her by surprise and I'm pretty sure she had assumed I was here on official police business.

Katniss took a seat in the armchair in the corner of the room and pulled her feet up to rest next to her. The curve of her ass was peeking out of the bottom of her sleep shorts and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. She flicked off the TV before turning towards me expectantly, her eyebrows rising in question.

"I don't know if I'll be much help. I haven't really been around for the last few days." She said when I remained silent.

"I'm well aware of that, Miss Everdeen…may I call you Katniss?" I asked with a smirk.

She hesitated and stared at me for a long moment. Seemingly studying the upturned corner of my mouth. She looked away again and chewed on her fingernail for a moment, a habit I had noticed she took up when she was deep in concentration.

"I'd prefer that." She said eventually. "If you don't mind…Officer Mellark."

She met my gaze again and I could see realisation within her grey irises. Her eyes were sparkling playfully now whereas a moment ago they had been almost clouded with worry.

Knowing that she was willingly playing along with my little game and her use of my last name caused a strong pull in my stomach and I could almost feel the blood rushing to my cock.

"So what appears to be the problem?"

I was pulled out of my stupor and focused on her again.

"Apparently there was a suspicious package delivered here earlier today and a woman matching your description was seen to be collecting it."

She laughed suddenly. "Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me."

"I do not find this funny, Miss Everdeen!" I said loudly and I delighted when I saw her physically startle in surprise.

"I do…sounds like someone made it up on the spot." She grinned at me again and then winked playfully. I struggled to prevent the smile that was tugging at my lips.

"Be that as it may it is of the upmost importance that I search your apartment…do you believe I would find anything _suspicious_ if it were to do that?"

"Depends on where you looked." She replied nonchalantly. "And it depends on if you have a warrant."

I released a heavy sigh and rose to my feet. "I don't need a warrant if I have probable cause." I replied as I made my way over to her. I came to a stop in front of the chair she was in and looked down at her. She was staring at the unbuttoned top of my shirt and then her eyes drifted briefly to the handcuffs on my belt before moving up to meet mine.

"That kind of sounds like bullshit too." She said with a smile.

I smiled tightly and lowered myself in front of her, resting my hands on the chair arms on either side of her and leaning forward so my face was close to hers. She smelled amazing and must have showered before changing into her pyjamas. The scent of her citrusy shower gel assaulted my senses and almost made me forget about the game we were currently playing. Almost.

"I'll ask you one more time, Miss Everdeen, is there anything suspicious in this apartment?"

"Well there's something _acting_ suspiciously." She replied with a pointed glance at me but her tone was playful.

I leant further towards her, our noses almost touching and my arms tensing at the effort of holding me above her. "It would be in your best interest to answer me honestly."

"Oh would it?" She said, lifting her hand and flicking the hard material at the front of my hat.

I could tell by the smile on her face that she thought she had the advantage in whatever this was turning into. But as soon as I heard the loud thwack of her nail against my cap I knew that the control I was so desperate to attain was finally within my grasp.

I grabbed her wrist as it lingered in front of my face and swiftly pinned it to the back of the chair behind her. She gasped at my sudden movement and I grinned down at her.

"You just assaulted an officer of the law, Miss Everdeen. And I'm afraid that I must take action immediately in order to ensure my own safety."

She rolled her eyes again but complied as I forced her to her feet and led her towards the wall behind her armchair. I hadn't released her wrist and used it to spin her to face away from me before grabbing her other hand and forcing them to the wall above her.

The entire length of my body was pressed firmly to hers and I knew she had felt the beginnings of my erection against her lower back when she arched back against me invitingly.

"I'm going to have to ask you to hold still while I search you, Miss Everdeen." I whispered against her ear, nipping at the lobe as I pulled away.

I heard her exhale shakily as she nodded her head but remained silent. I trailed my hands down her arms, her cardigan bunching at the elbows as I moved. She flinched slightly when my fingertips lightly ran over her armpits and I laughed lowly at her reaction.

"That's your first warning, madam." I said. "Do not move again."

My smile widened when she groaned quietly in agitation but she remained still against the wall in front of her. She moaned quietly as my hands found her tits. Her nipples were already straining against the thin cotton shirt she was wearing and I immediately squeezed them in my palms. I was slightly surprised when she didn't react and remained motionless.

I grinned to myself and knew I had to up my game.

My fingertips plucked her nipples roughly before I moved my hands from her breasts to grip her hips instead.

"Could you remove your cardigan, Miss Everdeen?" I muttered, plucking the elastic waist of her shorts and letting them snap back against her hip loudly. She complied immediately and draped the green material on the back of the chair to her side.

"And your vest." I added when she placed her hands on the wall in front of her again.

She sighed in slight annoyance before following my order and I plucked her waistband again as she moved. Once she was topless in front of me and her hands were firmly pressed against the wall again I ran my hands from her hipbones and up to her tits again.

She sighed again when I squeezed her mounds gently and I lowered my lips to her collarbone. I pressed my tongue against her skin and dragged it up to her ear, sucking the lobe into my mouth and nibbling it gently. She moaned quietly and I felt her knees buckle slightly.

"Second warning." I whispered, releasing her earlobe with a loud pop. That one was a little unfair, she always reacted when I played with her ears and I knew she'd be unable to hold still at the feel of my teeth on her skin.

I dropped down to my knees behind her and dragged her shorts down her legs as I moved, allowing them to pool around her ankles. A loud groan escaped me as her bare ass was revealed to me and I leant forward to press a kiss to a rounded cheek before I could prevent myself. She laughed quietly at my actions and I pulled back sharply, pushing my hands up the inside of her smooth legs until I they were resting at the top of her thighs. Her breath hitched when I pushed against her legs, encouraging her to spread her legs further. She stepped easily from her shorts and widened her stance, baring her to me.

The sweet smell of her arousal was intoxicating and I couldn't stop myself from pressing my face into her folds and inhaling deeply through my nose. My cock was straining painfully and I knew I needed to be inside her soon. On my own terms, of course. I hoped she was still oblivious to how desperate I was for her. As soon as she realised how badly I needed her it would be over.

She gasped loudly as my tongue shot out and pressed inside her. I darted it quickly in and out of her, drinking her juices as they began to drip down my chin.

"Did you find anything interesting officer?" She asked shakily.

I pulled back immediately and laughed loudly, replacing my tongue with my fingers and thrusting them lazily into her, revelling in the loud sloppy sound the movement caused.

"As a matter of fact I did." I said quietly, nipping the back of her thigh with my teeth gently as I brought my other hand to undo my pants. I freed my cock and stroked it a couple of times, running the thumb over the head and spreading the leaking precum down the shaft to ease my movement.

Katniss moaned loudly when my thumb pressed forcefully onto her clit and she jerked back towards me suddenly. "Oh shit." She muttered, dropping her head forcefully in front of her to hang in between her arms.

"Strike three, Miss Everdeen." I said happily, pulling my fingers from inside her and spanking her ass loudly as I rose to my feet. She moaned again and arched her back towards me, forcing my erect cock to slide in between her ass cheeks. I allowed her to thrust against me several times, enjoying the sensation on my sensitive skin before I grabbed her hips and forced her away from me again.

I turned her to face me and her hands dropped to rest on my shoulders. "Are you going to punish me, officer?" She asked, looking up at me through her eyelashes and biting her bottom lip playfully. I couldn't resist her any longer and surged forward, pressing my lips to hers firmly.

She complied immediately and parted her lips, allowing my tongue to shove into her warm mouth and seek hers out. We kissed furiously for several minutes, her hands deftly unbuttoning my shirt and pushing it from my shoulders easily. I pulled away from our kiss and cupped her jaw, running my thumb across her cheek gently.

"Get on your knees." I said suddenly and her eyes widened in surprise before she followed my instructions. "Hands behind your back." I said, shaking my head as her hands came to rest on my thighs. Again, she hesitated slightly before doing what I told her to.

I grabbed the waist of my pants and shoved them down fully, stepping out of them and nudging them to one side with my foot.

My hand grabbed my cock and I started stroking myself in front of her, slowly dragging my fist up and down the shaft as she watched me intently.

"Suck my cock." I said, gripping the base tightly and bringing it to her lips. She took the head into her mouth immediately, swirling her tongue around it before hollowing her cheeks and sucking firmly. She moved up and down the first couple of inches of my dick easily and my eyes fell closed at the sensation, my head dropping back as I let the pleasure consume me.

The wet heat at the tip of my cock disappeared and I was jolted back to reality. I forced my eyes open and threw my head forward again. Katniss was sitting on her knees and looking up at me with a smug smile.

"Was that satisfactory, Officer Mellark?" she asked, her smile widening as my mouth fell open in surprise. Who was I fucking kidding? She was still completely in control and she fucking knew it.

"You're a tease." I said, steadily stroking my cock in front of her again.

"No." she replied easily, leaning forward and kissing the pale skin of my hipbone gently.

"You just weren't specific enough." I frowned and she continued with a roll of her eyes.

"You told me to suck your cock…I did."

I nodded in understanding. "Ok. Then suck my cock until I tell you to stop." This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I started this. I didn't want to be taking her advice or following her guidance. But I did want to feel her mouth around me again, and my body overpowered my brain yet again.

"Much better." She said before leaning forward and enveloping the head of my dick between her lips again. Her hands were still behind her back and I smiled at the sight, grateful for the fact that she was at least following those instructions. I took my hand from the base of my cock and moved it instead to cup my balls in my palm, squeezing them as she took me as deep as she could. I knew I wouldn't last long when I felt her throat tighten sporadically at the head of my dick.

I thrust my hips forward and she gagged before pulling away, her eyes slightly clouded with tears and a long trail of spit snapped back to land on her chin. She coughed quietly and I brought my hand to run through her hair gently.

"Sorry." I said genuinely. Katniss shrugged in response before leaning back to take my cock in her mouth again. "Wait…wait…uh, suck my balls."

She laughed quietly before nodding and dragging her tongue firmly up the seam between my balls. She pulled back and blew lightly on the wet skin and the immediate shock of her cold breath made me moan loudly and uncontrollably. I had never felt anything like it before. The cold air felt amazing and was immediately taken away when her tongue caressed the area again.

My hand tightened in her hair and her eyes widened as she looked up at me. "I said _suck them_."

Her eyes widened further in surprise and then her mouth was closing around one of my balls, sucking it firmly as she shielded her teeth from my skin. She released it before repeating the motion on the other one. My hand was steadily stroking up and down my cock and I could feel my orgasm approaching.

"Get up." I said, pulling her hair gently and moving her away from me. "Stand up." I added when she dropped back to rest her ass on her ankles and just looked up at me with a confused frown.

She rose to her feet and I brought my hand to cup her knee, letting it drop into the crook of my elbow and lifting it up to expose her lips to me again. I could see her wetness coating the hairs surrounding her entrance and even making the soft skin at the top of her thighs glisten.

"Are you ready for me?" I asked, cupping the base of my cock and rubbing the head through her folds, coating myself in her arousal. "I can smell how wet you are." I added, nudging her clit and delighting in her small whine of pleasure.

"You like sucking me off, don't you?" I asked, dragging my cock to her entrance and thrusting in to the hilt easily. I paused as she stretched around me and dropped her head to the wall behind her. I pulled out and clutched my cock again, stroking myself with the help of her wetness.

"Yes." She answered, dropping a hand to her clit and rubbing it in firm circles. I watched her movement closely and continued to pleasure myself as her fingers moved quicker.

"And you like it when I fuck you?"

She groaned and moved her head to rest on my shoulder, kissing the skin there softly.

"God…yes."

I couldn't resist her anymore and lined myself up with her before pressing myself inside her again. She started moving with me fluidly, meeting each of my thrusts with slight circles of her hips. Her hand was still moving rapidly against her clit and I nudged it away, quickly replacing it with my own. My thumb circled it at a slightly slower pace than she had been using and my thrusts increased in speed. I was moving against her wildly, withdrawing until only the head of my cock was encased in her wetness before forcefully shoving myself into her again.

My balls drew up tightly against me and I lost my rhythm as I felt my orgasm fast approaching. "Are you close?" I said, increasing the speed of my thumb against her clit and causing her to whine against the skin of my shoulder.

She nodded quickly and started thrusting her hips more wildly against mine. We were both moving without finesse as we raced towards our climaxes, our skin slapping together loudly when we met.

"I'm gonna come." She said suddenly, biting into the skin of my shoulder as her internal muscles clamped around me, milking my own orgasm from me and forcing a loud grunt to escape my throat.

I slumped heavily into her and braced my hand on the wall next to her head. As soon as I withdrew from her she dropped to the floor and landed heavily on her ass, her chest heaving with effort as she struggled to catch her breath. I took her initiative and decided to give my legs a rest too, dropping to sit next to her and leaning against the wall behind us. My eyes were drawn to the sight of my come seeping out onto the floor between her legs.

"Feel better now that's out of your system?" She asked quietly.

"Yes."

She nodded and dropped her head onto my shoulder. "I'm surprised you didn't use your handcuffs."

I laughed quietly. "Far too predictable." I muttered. "Besides…that's your fantasy right? And tonight was about me…"

"If you promise to always make me come that hard then every night can be about you."

I pressed my lips into her hair and brought my arm to surround shoulders.

"I get it." She said after a long moment of silence. "I was being selfish. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." I replied, slightly shocked that she could read me so easily. It wasn't fine, but my mind couldn't seem to remember the reason why just now.

I dropped my head back against the wall behind me in frustration. My jaw clenched in anger and the joy I felt after my orgasm turned into guilt and anger instead. I shouldn't have had sex with her tonight. But I couldn't resist her when she was actually in front of me, everything about her was enticing and tempted me until the point that I couldn't function without touching her.

As much as I didn't want it to end, it wasn't fair to either of us to keep things going when we both knew we wanted different things.

"Do you want to stay over?" She asked a moment later, her hand moving to play with the hair at the base of my stomach.

I frowned in confusion.

Katniss was smiling towards me kindly and then dropped her head onto my shoulder, scooting closer on the floor to snuggle against my side. We'd never spent the night together before. And I assumed that this was her way of offering me another small part of herself.

My frown melted into a smile when she pressed a small kiss to my shoulder. But my body remained tense. Now that my mind was no longer clouded by lust I knew that I needed to say something to her about our arrangement.

"Ok." I replied quietly.

But neither of us moved. Simply content to sit there in each other's arms for a little while longer.

"I think we need to talk." I said eventually, tilting my head so I could catch her eyeline and then offering her a smile.

She lifted her head from my shoulder and sighed in frustration. "I'm not good at talking. And I've told you before that I don't want to discuss this right now."

I threw my head back into the wall behind me and groaned loudly in frustration.

"We need to talk." I repeated, my tone was clipped.

Katniss glared at me for a long time and I just stared back. The longer the silence stretched on the more frustrated I became. This wasn't fair to either of us, especially to me, and I knew I deserved more.

I'd had it with her being stubborn and always getting her own way. And for the first time in my life I decided to out my own happiness and wellbeing first.

"I can't do this anymore." I said, pushing up from the floor and rising to my feet.

Katniss watched me, her mouth hanging open in shock as I pulled my pants back up my legs and threw my shirt over my shoulders.

"Are you seriously going?" She asked as my hand closed around my hat.

I could hear the sadness in her voice and my resolve almost faltered. But I knew I needed to stay strong this time.

"I have to." I muttered.

As I walked towards her door I heard her scramble to her feet and then her hand closed around my arm.

"Peeta…please…" She said quietly.

I didn't look back towards her and instead pulled my arm from her grasp forcefully and continued out of her apartment and across the hall to mine. The door slammed loudly behind me and I dropped heavily onto the couch.

My eyes were burning with tears and my throat was constricting painfully. I ran my hands through my hair and then heard a sharp knock at my door. Katniss called my name quietly and knocked again.

I groaned in anguish and yelled back that I wanted to be alone.

She knocked a few more times before I eventually heard her apartment door close softly and then I was left alone in silence with only my thoughts for company.

**A/N - Please don't hate me! **

**The POV is changing to Katniss for the last few chapters while things wrap up. Hope you enjoy the where the story goes!**

**Come and find me on Tumblr :) .com**


	5. Turning Point

Turning Point

Katniss' POV

My eyes feel heavy as I lower my head to the table in front of me but I know I can't let myself fall asleep. I'm well into my ninth hour on shift and we just got a call to inform us that an ambulance is on the way with a shot youth in the back. From what I understand he's in pretty bad shape, there probably won't be much we can do for him.

I feel terrible for thinking it, but I live for nights like this. I've enjoyed all of my rotations this past year but once I was transferred to the ER I came into my element. And its nights like these, where I barely get a moment to myself, which I've been craving lately.

The amount of time I'm spending at home is minimal. I arrive in the early hours of the morning and collapse into bed, too exhausted to stay awake for a moment longer, too exhausted to even check my cell phone before I pass out.

Not that there would be anything important on there.

Because Peeta hasn't contacted me for over a month.

I get the occasional text from Prim or Johanna, but they always say the same thing. They tell me to put myself out there and start seeing someone again, complain that all I do is work and remind me that I need to learn to have fun again; but I'm just not interested in any of that.

After things ended with Gale I decided I was over relationships. I never wanted to experience the heartache again and I promised myself I never would.

While I was at med school it was easy to meet guys who were only looking to keep things casual, and I guess I got too used to the lifestyle.

I could feel that things with Peeta were different. I looked forward to seeing his name flash on the screen of my phone. He had a way with words; and his descriptions of the things he wanted to do to me made me crave him even more. But over time I looked forward to even the most menial of his texts; the ones that asked about my day or went far too into detail about the latest plot development in the various shows we had realised we both watched.

I knew pushing Peeta away was a mistake but I couldn't make myself stop. He had wormed his way into my life and heart before I even realised it. And I panicked. And I made him feel like I didn't want him, or that he wasn't worthy of an actual relationship with me.

I'd spent far too much time analysing my actions that night. I had asked him to stay over. I wanted him to stay with me, to hold me as I slept and to be there when I woke up.

But it wasn't enough for him.

And since communication has never been my strongest asset I shut down his attempts at forging a real connection with me.

I regret it. How couldn't I? He's a great guy, I know that, and I completely fucked everything up. And now he's done with me and probably moved on to some other woman who can give him the emotional support he needs.

The thought of Peeta with another woman makes my heart clench painfully and an overwhelming sense of nausea overcomes me.

The realisation hits me suddenly and I lift my head from the table. I can't believe it's taken me so long to realise it.

I need him.

And if I want to get him back it's me who has to change.

It's not Peeta's fault that my heart was broken years ago. It's not his fault that I have a tendency to fall back into Gale's arms whenever he shows me the slightest bit of attention. And it's not his fault that I was too blind to see that he was offering me everything I ever needed from another person.

I grab my cellphone from my pocket and set about typing a long message detailing how I've acknowledged that I fucked up and want to talk to him; explaining that I understand that I'm probably the last person he wants to talk to right now but that I'm going to work as hard as I can to make things right between us; and begging him to give me a chance to say all of this to his face too.

The door to the break room flies open as I press send and I'm immediately assaulted with an assortment of loud beeping and louder voices.

I follow the nurse as she rushed back into the hall and head over to the gurney being pushed quickly through the ER, there are already several doctors around and I struggle to see what's happening. But there's a lot of blood. I can't see the wound but it looks like the young man has been shot in the chest.

"Everdeen!"

My head snaps up and I meet the sharp grey eyes of my supervisor. Dr Abernathy shakes his head from side to side and then nods to the door.

"Another call came in. Cop took a bullet too and I want you over there. He's in critical."

I nod once and jog outside. The air is cool and I shiver slightly in my thin scrubs. I meet the eyes of another junior doctor and offer a small smile. From what I remember when we first transferred here, she doesn't do well under pressure so I know that I will be called on a lot by whoever shows up to supervise us.

It's not my first gunshot victim, I've actually seen a fair few, and I've surprised myself with how easily I got used to all the blood and other mess that comes along with it.

So when the ambulance swings into the parking lot, sirens blaring and the doors being thrown open by an EMT, I immediately reach out to grab a side of the gurney and get to work.

I stop short when I see a head full of blond hair and feel my heart plummet.

No, it can't be.

His face is covered with blood, swollen down one side and more pale than I've ever seen him.

And even though most of his features are obscured by the intubation kit, it's unmistakably Peeta.

Some sort of sound escapes me and I stumble backwards away from the gurney again.

I can't believe this is happening.

"Get over here, Everdeen!"

My eyes are clouded with tears and I can barely see as a doctor I only vaguely recognise takes my place at the side of the gurney.

"I can't." I mutter. "I can't do this."

"I don't have time for this shit." He mutters, barging me roughly with his shoulder as he moves into the building and leaves me behind.

I drop onto a nearby bench and promptly lean over to one side before emptying the contents of my stomach against the side of the building. My eyes fall closed and I feel hot tears roll down my face.

I can't believe this has happened.

A firm hand lands on my shoulder and jolt back to reality.

Dr Abernathy is frowning down at me but his face softens just slightly as he hands me a cup of hot chocolate. I take it from him and simply stare down at the brown liquid, watching as the heat rises from it and disintegrates into nothingness. With a loud groan, Abernathy drops onto the bench next to me.

"So what happened to you?" he asked eventually, lighting a cigarette and taking a long pull.

I shrug.

"You know him or something?"

My head whips round to face him and I stare angrily towards him.

He seems relatively unfazed and simply stares back, waiting for my answer.

"He's my neighbour." I say quietly.

"Humph."

I watch the cloud of smoke exit his lips as he exhales.

"What?" I ask. I can hear the venom in my own voice but I don't even care at this point.

If he's come out here to fuck with me I'm going to end up saying something I regret, and I don't even care about the consequences right now.

"Seems like an extreme reaction for a neighbour." He says eventually.

I'm going to tell him it's none of his business but then I realise that there's only one reason he's the one who came out to see me.

"I take it the kid didn't make it?"

Abernathy nods solemnly. "Didn't even get him to the OR. Left it open for your boy though. He's in there now."

I wipe the tears from where they sit on my cheek and can't stop the smile from spreading across my face.

"How bad is he?"

"Pretty bad. But he's in the best place he can be right now."

I nod.

"He'll be out in a couple of hours. And you'll be no good to anyone for the rest of the night. Go and observe if you want...or go home. That'll probably be for the best."

"Have his parents been called?" I say, completely disregarding whatever he had been saying.

"His partner called them. They'll probably be here soon."

"They live out of town." I say. "I'm can't go home right now. If he wakes up he shouldn't be alone. I'll wait in the break room until he gets out."

Abernathy nods and rises to his feet. "Do whatever you need to do, sweetheart. I'll cover for you."

He pats my shoulder gently and then stalks back inside, tossing the butt of his cigarette into a garbage can as he passes it.

I don't know how long I stay sitting on that bench. It doesn't matter anyway. All I know is that by the time I make it to the break room Peeta is out of surgery and in recovery.

I'm not allowed in to see him yet and head straight to the coffee machine in the corner of the room. I get myself a large coffee and settle at the table in the middle of the room. There's a nervous looking man sitting opposite me. At another time I'd probably have registered how handsome he is. But I was too distracted by the way his hands were flipping a cell phone through his hands incessantly.

I sighed and looked up from my cup to tell him to stop. But as my eyes trail from his hands to his face they linger on the shiny badge pinned to his dark shirt.

"You came in with Peeta Mellark?" I ask quietly.

His eyes lift immediately and I notice the red, swollen skin surrounding them. "Yes." His voice is gruff and he clears his throat loudly before trying again. "Yes. He's my partner."

I nod and offer a small smile.

"Finnick." He says, offering me his hand. "Did you work on him?" he adds as I reach across to take it.

"No." I say quietly. "He's my neighbour; I'm not allowed to get involved."

A look of recognition dawns across his face and he drops my hand, bringing his fingers to drum against the hard table top instead.

"You're his neighbour?" He asks eventually.

"Yes."

"Katniss?"

"Yes."

He nods and sighs deeply. "He's mentioned you." Finnick says eventually.

My eyes drop back to the cup of coffee between my hands.

"It's ok." Finnick continues. "Dude still won't say a word against you regardless of what happened."

I stay silent. There's nothing to say anyway.

"It would mean a lot to him to know you were here."

"You're not staying?" I ask, watching as Finnick rises to his feet and pockets his cell phone.

"There's a whole lot of paperwork that I need to do before I can go home tonight. I was just hanging around to find out he made it through the surgery."

"He'll be in recovery for a few days anyway. Maybe you could come back at some point."

Finnick nods and shakes my hand again before rushing from the room.

I drink my coffee and head to the bathroom to compose myself before making my way to the ICU. They let me in without much fuss and I find Peeta easily. A middle-aged nurse is fussing with his tubes and smiles as I settle in the seat next to his bed.

He still looks frail but the colour has begun to return to face, always a good sign.

As soon as the nurse leaves I move from my seat and grab his chart. Apparently the bullet grazed his liver but didn't fracture. Its removal was by the book and there were no complications.

I drop back into the chair and exhale in relief. He'll need to avoid strenuous activity for a while and he won't be able to work for several months but beyond that there won't be any huge changes to his lifestyle.

My hand finds his where it rests at the side of the mattress and I clasp it tightly. It's warm and my eyes fall closed. Surprisingly sleep finds me easily.

A soft knocking at the door awakens me and I squint at the bright light flooding through the window behind me.

I look over at the door as it opens and frown at the stranger making his way towards Peeta's bed. He looks so much like Peeta that I know it must be a close relative; based on the crow's feet around his eyes and the deep lines on his forehead I assume it's his father.

He looks exhausted. There are dark circles underneath his clear, blue eyes and I notice his hands shaking slightly as he reaches to run a hand through Peeta's hair.

When his body shakes with a heavy sob I know I need to leave.

"Mr Mellark?" I say quietly.

He ignores me for a moment, pressing a series of small kisses to Peeta's forehead. But then his back straightens and he looks down at me expectantly.

"Have you been watching after my boy?" he asks.

I pause, slightly unsure of how to explain who I am and why I'm here.

"Only since he's been in recovery. He's doing really well. A lot better than any of us thought."

Mr Mellark nods but I know he's barely listening to me.

"Thank you, doctor." He says eventually. "Do you know when he'll wake up?"

I stand up and grab his chart again. It's been updated every other hour through the night and his vitals are great. He's already had his morphine dose lowered, and about three hours ago he had his last sedative injection.

"We've just got to wait for the sedative to work its way out of his system." I reply.

"Based on all of this it should be within the next couple of hours."

Mr Mellark nods again. His eyes never leave his son's face.

"I'll give you some time alone." I say before briefly explaining how to call for a nurse's attention if there are any changes.

I pause outside the room and check my watch. It's barely seven in the morning. Mr Mellark must have driven all night to get here for the start of visiting hours, there's no way he caught a plane this early.

As I wander back through the halls to get to the ER I feel empty. I should really head home and try and get some sleep before my shift starts later but I just can't make myself leave. Not when Peeta still hasn't woken up.

Dr Abernathy is sitting at the table in the break room when I walk in and I hear soft snores coming from one of the couches, but besides that we're alone.

"Your boy awake yet?"

His voice cracks as he speaks. He sounds exhausted.

"No."

He nods and his sharp eyes follow me as I make my way to sit next to him at the table.

"Go home, sweetheart."

"I should be here when he wakes up."

Abernathy shakes his head. "His folks are here now…and his partner will be back at some point to check up on him."

"You don't understand…" I begin, but he interrupts me before I can even think about what I was going to say.

"Katniss…you're here to do a job; last night I cut you some slack because you were a mess." His tone is harsh and I look away from him as he chastises me. "But you need to be back in here tonight and at the top of your game again."

I remain silent.

He sighs and continues. "If you need to take a personal day I'll understand."

I lift my head as my mouth drops open in shock. He's smiling tightly and reaches across to rest his hand on my shoulder.

"You're a good doctor, kid. And when your _neighbour_ gets home it might not be such a bad idea to stick around."

He continues to stare at me for moment and I just stare back. His lip twitches at one side and he shakes his head before rising to his feet and leaving the room.

I consider his words as I stay seated at the table. Peeta's recovery will take a while, and he'll be off work for at least a couple of months. As much as I would like to step up and help him manage his medication or therapy, it's not my place to do so. He has made it very clear that he wants nothing to do with me anymore. So what more can I do than honour his wishes.

After a quick stop to change the rota and sign myself off for the day I head home and take a long shower. The warm water eases my aching muscles but my mind is still racing. I make myself keep busy and I clean my entire apartment much more thoroughly than I usually do.

For a while it works. I push Peeta to the back of my mind and focus on what I'm doing.

I try to convince myself that I'm not watching the clock. But as time goes on and I have no company besides a few episodes of random TV shows that I've neglected lately, I start to feel anxious.

He'll be awake by now, probably in the company of his father or Finnick for the time being. But visiting hours are almost over and then he'll be alone for the rest of the night. I tell myself it's not my problem and reheat some lasagne that Prim left here a few days ago. I'm not hungry and the food is tasteless in my mouth.

It only takes another half hour of deliberation before I'm changing into a pair of jeans and pulling on my shoes. I'm out the door and in my car before I can begin to second guess my decision.

Getting in to see him is fairly easy. I worked the ICU for a while and the nurses are more than happy to let me into his room when I explain the situation. As I make the walk down the long hallway I see Peeta's father lingering outside his room.

"He's awake?" I ask and the man's head shoots up from where he was looking down at his cellphone.

"Jesus." He says breathlessly. "You shouldn't sneak up on an old man like that."

He laughs quietly to himself and I smile in return. "He's awake, rambling like a loon but he's awake."

I hear the relief in his voice and my smile widens.

"Is he up for more visitors?" I ask.

Mr Mellark nods thoughtfully. "I think he'll be thrilled to see you."

"Oh I don't know about that." I mutter, dropping my gaze to the floor.

"You are Katniss, right?"

I lift my head and frown deeply. "Yes." I answer cautiously.

"Good. You're all he's been talking about!" Mr Mellark smiles widely as he speaks then tells me he's going to head outside to try and call his wife again. We exchange short goodbyes and I watch him leave the department.

I'm alone in the corridor for a moment as I prepare myself to see Peeta again. I don't know what to expect, especially after his dad said that in his drug induced haze he's been talking about me.

With a deep breath I push the door open and walk inside.

Peeta is propped up on several pillows and is staring dreamily out of the window. The room smells freshly sterile and one quick glance the reduced padding around his stomach tells me he's had his dressing changed recently.

He doesn't seem to have heard me come in and continues to stare in the opposite direction, his thumb is poised over the device that administers his morphine and I have a feeling he may have just pressed it.

I clear my throat and his head slowly turns. A dopey smile spreads across his face and I can't help but return it. His blue eyes, usually so clear and focused, are glazed over and keep wandering away from my face before flitting back quickly.

"You came to see me." He says, lifting his hand and waving it in my direction haphazardously. "I thought you wouldn't but I thought you would."

Another smile twitches the corners of my lips at his jumbled sentence but I just nod and smile as he looks towards me hopefully. He's definitely just taken some morphine.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, walking across the room and dropping into the seat next to his bed.

"Good." He replies, dragging the word out for several seconds.

"Good." I say. "Hopefully you'll be able to go home tomorrow."

"Did you know I was shot?" He interrupts. His mouth is hanging open and he's staring towards me intently.

"Yes Peeta. I know you were shot."

"It really hurt." He says, his head falling back onto the pillow behind him.

The smile is back on my face before I can prevent it. "I imagine it did."

"Feels good now though. I have many pain pills and liquids and pretty ladies coming in to check on me. Well _one_ pretty lady...the prettiest…"

"Peeta…" I try to interrupt him but he just continues rambling away.

"Pretty grey eyes and pretty black hair...and pretty little hipbones that she likes to be nibbled…"

I gasp quietly at his words and his eyes open again slowly. His head lolls to the side and he gives me an exaggerated frown.

"I don't want you to hate me." He says quietly.

His hand turns upwards where it rests on the bed and I drag my chair closer to him. I link our fingers together easily and lean forward to press a soft kiss to his knuckles.

"I don't hate you." I mutter against his skin.

He sighs and his fingers spasm against mine. "I hate me."

"Don't say that."

"It's true. I fucked everything up. I should have just stayed with you that night and everything would be ok still. But I never put myself first and I get hurt...and then this time I put myself first and I still get hurt...and then I got shot! And that hurt even more!"

He's speaking loudly and I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing at his outburst. I don't find what he said particularly funny but the intense look on his face as he tried to focus both his thoughts and eyes at the same time is comical. His forehead is creased and he's leaning as far towards me as he can without causing himself any more pain; the bottom of his nostrils are flaring slightly as he breathes deeply and his eyes are still drifting away sporadically.

"Peeta, what happened that night was my fault."

He starts to shake his head from side to side, and I reach up with the hand that isn't currently holding his to cup his jaw and hold him still so he faces me. This isn't the time to talk about everything that I should have said and done differently that night. He probably won't remember any of it anyway.

"It _was_ my fault. You asked for a conversation and I wouldn't even give that to you. You deserve so much more that Peeta."

His face softens and he turns his head slightly to press a kiss to my wrist. He misses, and instead just butts my arm with his nose. When he turns back towards me and offers a lazy smile I return it.

"Ok...you messed up on one night...but I messed up for like three months before that."

"How did you mess up?"

"Because when we started doing whatever it is we were doing, I was all like: I won't fall in love with her and everything will be fine. And then I started to fall for you because you were funny and smart and playful and you really liked doing sex with me."

I bite my lip again, I really don't want to laugh and interrupt his confession. My heart is hammering in my chest and I can't believe he's actually saying all of this.

"So I messed it all up first because we said we'd be casual and I wasn't casual."

We're silent for a long time. His fingers occasionally squeeze mine and my other hand falls to rest on his chest. I can feel the steady beat of his heart beneath my fingers and can't stop myself from thinking about how I could have lost him forever.

"It wasn't casual for me either." I say quietly.

"You don't have to lie…"

"I'm not lying." I interrupt quickly. "I mean it. And I know I kept pushing you away but I'm no good at stuff like this."

"We could both be bad at it together." He says with a smile. "And even though we're bad at doing stuff, the stuff we do will be really good."

He pauses as he considers his words. "Yeah." He continues eventually. "That's what we'll do. We'll be bad...but we'll actually be good and I won't tell if you don't."

I snort quietly and lean forward to rest my head on his shoulder. "Ok." I say quietly.

His hand comes to rest on the back of my head and he plays with my hair.

"I like your hair." He says a few minutes later.

"Yeah I know." My eyes fall closed and I snuggle further into him.

At some point I must fall asleep because all too soon I feel a soft hand on my shoulder gently shaking me awake.

I sit up suddenly and find that it's only a nurse coming through to check Peeta's stitches. I linger behind her as she works and glance over her shoulder to get a good look at his wound. It's not as bad as I was expecting and based on the pinkness of the skin around it it shouldn't take all that long to heal. It's not infected and the stitching looks neat enough to minimise the scarring he'll suffer from.

It's still the middle of the night and I leave for a few minutes to go to the bathroom. Peeta gives me a bright smile as I go. After I freshen up I head straight back to his room and find that the nurse is removing his catheter. I turn my back and read the headlines on the newspaper that his father must have left behind.

When I hear the nurse finishing up I make my way over to him and take my seat again. His dopey grin is back and he immediately holds his hand out to take mine.

"I think you're going home later." I say as the door closed behind the nurse.

"Good. It's boring here and that nurse just took away my morphine."

I nod and take his hand again. He falls asleep again pretty soon after that and I close my eyes to get some more sleep too.

When I next wake up, Peeta and his father are talking in hushed voices. I keep my eyes closed and listen to them for a moment. They mention his mother and his father apologises for the fact she didn't come to visit, Peeta says he isn't surprised. My heart breaks a little at the tone of his voice, so resigned and only slightly disappointed with the situation. I also notice his voice is back to normal and I crack an eye open to check my watch, it's almost ten and the morphine will have completely worked its way out of him by now.

Peeta notices I'm awake and reaches a hand across to cup my jaw. I glance at his father nervously but he's looking down at the newspaper in his hands, a small smile playing across his lips.

I stay for a brief conversation with the two of them, then press a kiss to Peeta's forehead and head back home.

I'm on shift when Peeta texts me to let me know he's home safe late that afternoon and I text him back to ask if he needs anything. He doesn't, but I swing by when I get home that night anyway. He's been told to take it easy as he recovers and will have a nurse visit him every other day to check on his stitches and ensure he doesn't get an infection.

Over the next two months this becomes our routine. I make up excuses to see him every day, either bringing him food or driving him to and from his therapy sessions. He's slowly regaining his strength and I can tell that he's eager to get back to work and his regular lifestyle.

I let myself into his apartment one evening, a sixpack of beer in one hand. He texted me excitedly a couple of hours ago and informed me that his doctor told him he can start drinking again. I'm taken aback when I see his kitchen table adorned with candles and an ice bucket with a bottle of wine peeking from the top.

Peeta's head pops around the corner when he hears me and he smiles brightly, walking over and dropping a kiss on my head.

"Are they for me?" He asks with a gesture to the beer in my hand.

I nod and pass it over to him. He smiles widely and kisses my forehead again. I feel myself blush due to his affection.

"What is all this?" I ask as the smell of steak drifts over with him.

"Ok...don't freak out…"

I look up at him and roll my eyes at him. He frowns back at me playfully before continuing.

"I just wanted to do something nice for you to thank you for everything you've been doing for me lately."

"You don't have to do that…" I say quietly but he starts to violently shake his head as he leads me over to the table.

"I want to do this for you. You deserve a nice dinner with no expectations."

I take a seat and watch as Peeta serves up our food. He's prepared a sirloin steak, with mashed potatoes containing olives and various other vegetables. It's topped with a red wine sauce that smells divine.

"I didn't know you could cook." I say quietly as he pours us each a glass of wine.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." He says cryptically before winking.

This has become routine for us too. Harmless flirting that always seems to accompany even our most menial of interactions.

"If you give me a chance I'd like to find out…" I reply.

He nods with a smile and lifts his glass for a toast. I return it and we dive into our dinners eagerly.

The wine flows easily across the length of the meal and by the time we make our way over to his sofa to watch TV my head feels fuzzy. Peeta's eyes are drooping slightly as he focuses on the show and I know the alcohol is starting to get to him too.

His arm lifts up and I snuggle into his side. This isn't unusual for us, we quite often end up lying together on his sofa before I head home for the night. Something feels different about tonight though. There's an energy between us that hasn't been there for a while and when I feel Peeta's hand drop to my hip I know he can feel it to.

I turn my head to look at him and gasp softly when I realise he's already staring in my direction. His eyes are focused on my lips and dart up to mine briefly before drifting back down.

Seconds later I lean up and press my lips to his. He responds immediately, sucking my bottom lip between his before releasing it softly. Our lips move together smoothly and I moan softly when his tongue presses into my mouth. I meet it with my own and we kiss languidly for a long time.

I end up straddling him on the sofa. Our hands roaming all over each other as I grind into the bulge in his jeans.

"We shouldn't do this." I say as his lips trail down my neck. "We should go slow."

He snorts against my shoulder and then leans back with a smile. His lips are red and swollen and I run my thumb over them as he grins up at me.

"We've gone slow enough...I need you, Katniss."

I sigh and lean in to kiss him again. There's no way I could ever resist him when he's so willing to let us start over.

My hands move to unbutton his shirt and I push it from his shoulders. His hands quickly reach to the bottom of my shirt and pushes it up and over my head. His eyes drop to where my breasts are spilling over the top of my bra as I try to catch my breath.

"Let's go to my room." He whispers against my ear, his hot breath against the skin there makes me shiver in his arms.

I nod and move to my feet, offering him my hands and helping him stand too.

We walk hand in hand to his bedroom and lay next to each other. He's propping himself up on elbow and his other hand lands on my hip, he squeezes it gently and then trails his fingertips across my stomach until he's circling my bellybutton.

I lean in to kiss him again as my hands circle his back and pull him on top of me. He settles between my thighs and presses himself against my centre as he moves his hands to rest on either side of my head.

Heat is curling in my stomach and I can feel the wetness pooling in my panties as his hands slide underneath me and unhook my bra. He tosses it to the side and lowers his head to my exposed breasts. His mouth closes around nipple and I arch into his touch.

I've missed this.

He's always so attentive and generous when we're together and I can't believe I took it for granted for so long. But I won't anymore. Not when I know how it feels to almost lose him. I don't know how I'd cope if I ever found myself without him now.

But I push those thoughts to the back of my mind. I just want to focus on him and the wonderful sensation of his mouth on my skin.

When he rises to his knees between my legs and pulls off my jeans I lift my hips to encourage him further; and his hands slide back up and remove my panties too. He worships me with his tongue and fingers until I shatter beneath him and then he's removing his own jeans. I can see him straining against the thin, dark material and I reach upwards to push them off his hips.

The sight of him hard and ready for me sends a thrill through me and I spread my thighs further apart in invitation. He grins before lowering his body to rest against the length of mine. Our lips meet as he pushes inside me.

He pauses for a moment and nibbles on my bottom lip before his hips begin to slowly rock. His cock is stretching me, and having him inside me after so long without him is pushing me to the edge much faster than usual. But it's the look in his eyes as he stares down at me, his eyes focused on mine as he moves inside me and the way his irises darken as he nears his own release that has me arching into him and releasing his name on a gasp.

My climax triggers his own and I sigh happily as I feel him empty himself inside me. His body sags heavily into my own, and I wrap my arms around him to hold him there for just a moment longer.

When he eventually withdraws from me I whimper in disappointment. He chuckles softly and drags my body across the short space between us until I'm enveloped in his embrace again.

I sigh happily and fall asleep in his arms.

**A/N - Hopefully you all enjoyed the switch to Katniss' POV. I know this chapter didn't go into her backstory all that much but it was getting pretty long as it was and I didn't want to rush through it. Next chapter will give us more of an insight into her character I promise! **

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Familiar Faces

I can feel the heat rising to color my cheeks as Prim and Johanna continue to stare at me. Prim's eyebrows are raised in question, but Johanna is scowling at me in what I assume is impatience.

Calling them was a mistake. I knew they'd come over here to grill me about every possible detail as soon as I mentioned Peeta's name. It's not that I have a problem talking about him. Not anymore. I just wanted to keep things between the two of us for as long as possible, and I could put off having him meet my abrasive best friend for even longer.

"Come on, Brainless." Johanna says with an exasperated sigh, throwing a piece of popcorn at my face. "Unless he's an absolute fucktard, I'm sure I'll have heard worse."

"He's not a fucktard." I mutter under my breath. "I just don't see why you care so much."

"You bang a guy for months and actually act sheepish about it...that never happens anymore." Johanna pauses and turns to offer Prim a wink. "You like him." She says mockingly, throwing another piece of popcorn in my direction.

I roll my eyes and watch as Prim leans forward to grab the unopened bottle of wine on the coffee table. She pours me a generous glass, and I settle back into the corner of the couch, pulling my knees up to rest against my chest.

"Of course I like him."

"Come on, Katniss." Prim says gently. "He makes you happy, doesn't he?"

I take a sip of my wine and roll my eyes again. My mind wanders and I consider how I'm going to answer her question. Of course Peeta makes me happy, he works hard to make time for me around our busy schedules and understands if I need a night alone.

Not that I've had many of those.

Or any, now that I think of it.

Even on nights where I've told him I want to be alone, I find myself wandering over to his place in my pajamas and climbing into bed with him. He gave me the key to his apartment a couple of weeks ago, and I've been out to get an extra key cut for my place too.

I considered it a big step in our relationship, but he shrugged it off like it was nothing. He started pushing the key towards me one morning as I sat eating cereal at his breakfast bar before kissing my forehead and rushing out of the door to get to work. I remember that I stared at it for a long time, a frown creasing my forehead before I sighed and picked it up to slip it in my pocket.

When I handed him the key I cut for him, he smiled and pressed a kiss to my hand as I tried to pull it away. His eyes met mine briefly before he turned back to the TV and focused on that instead.

A smile spreads across my face at the memory, and I know that both of the other women in the room have noticed it.

"He makes me very happy." I say eventually.

Prim practically squeals with happiness as her hand falls to squeeze my shin gently in excitement, and even Johanna is smiling behind her wine glass.

"So is he officially your boyfriend?" Prim asks.

"Well if someone asked, I wouldn't say I was single."

Johanna scoffs haughtily and downs the rest of her wine.

"You're the most irritating person I know when it comes to shit like this." She says, staring towards me with her eyes narrowed. "You need to just get over yourself, suck it up, and admit you want to be with him."

"I am with him." I reply. "I'm _only_ with him."

My tone is sharp and Johanna's eyebrows rise in surprise. "Well then he must be something special. You wouldn't settle for just anyone."

I can't quite place her tone. The glare she's aiming my way is confusing me further.

"He is." I mutter.

Her comment pisses me off more than I thought it would. Probably because it's completely justified. For as long as Johanna has known me, I've never been in a relationship with any sort of substance. She'd only ever heard all the reasons why I didn't want one on occasions where I'd get drunk and rant about everything that went wrong with Gale.

She supported my decision to not date anymore, encouraged it even. My casual dating suited her lifestyle while we were rooming together at college because she didn't want to settle down either.

"We should go and get dinner with him one day." Prim says with a warm smile. I turn and offer her a smile too.

With Prim it's different.

Although she's always supported my lifestyle choices, she knows that deep down I'm not as against relationships and marriage as I try to convince myself. I always thought I'd spend my life with Gale, but look at how that turned out. I was so depressed afterwards that I just gave up trying. With the way that she's smiling at me now, her eyes crinkled just slightly at the edges, I know she can see the change in me that I've been feeling since Peeta and I got together officially.

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I don't bother checking it. Peeta always texts around this time to let me know he's on his way home. It's getting late, and I should really send Prim and Johanna on their way. It's selfish, but I just want to spend tonight with Peeta.

My shift today was rough. Dr Abernathy and I were working on a young boy who had been hit by a car. He came in with a punctured lung and bled out on the table; I took it a lot harder than I thought I would, but seeing a child die is never easy. To make it worse, Abernathy decided to use the entire thing as a teaching exercise, and he made sure I was present when he spoke to the parents.

After I watched their faces twist in despair and their bodies physically collapse in agony, I had to look away. I knew the feeling all too well. The loss of my father had taught me to deal with grief much sooner than I should have, and this little exercise had done nothing but bring those emotions all rushing back to me.

I went to the break room and dropped onto the sofa. I'm pretty sure I didn't move for over half an hour. Eventually, Dr. Abernathy came in and sat with me. It was the end of our shifts, anyway; he sat next to me in silence for a few minutes before pulling out a hipflask from his backpack and taking a swig. I frowned and checked my watch. 11am.

He took a few more mouthfuls before turning to acknowledge me. When he noticed the way I was frowning in his direction, he offered me the hipflask with a wink. I declined his offer and stood up instead.

I just wanted to be alone.

The drive home was short, and I stripped off my scrubs before crawling under my covers.

Everything smelled of Peeta, and I found myself curling my body around the pillow he always used as I stared off into space. I was developing a migraine and planned to spend the rest of the day alone in here, wallowing in my misery. These sorts of days aren't unusual for me.

Sometimes everything just takes its toll, and I need a few hours alone with my thoughts to get back on track.

When my phone lit up beside me after an hour, I frowned and moved to silence the call. But seeing Peeta's name had stirred something inside me that caught me completely by surprise. As I pressed the phone to my ear eagerly, he greeted me quietly.

His voice was soothing, and my mind immediately cleared as he spoke to me. I didn't tell him about my day, but I was instead content to let him tell me all about his for the entirety of the call.

Before I knew it I was calling Prim and Johanna and asking them to come over and spend the afternoon with me. They've been good company, filling me in with their lives and listening with rapt interest to the few morsels of information I've revealed about Peeta.

"Are you guys just about done?" I ask suddenly, interrupting Johanna as she tells an anecdote about some guy she's been seeing lately.

She rolls her eyes playfully and downs the rest of her wine. "I take it lover boy is on his way over?"

I nod briefly, and Johanna sighs before rising to her feet. "Ok, Brainless, have fun with your squeeze."

Prim follows suit and pulls me into a warm hug after putting on her jacket. "Next time, I want to meet him." She says as she moves away again. "No excuses."

I sigh and nod. "No more excuses."

They leave, and I go about clearing up the takeout boxes and empty wine bottles from my coffee table. Within minutes, I hear Peeta's key in the lock and then the heavy sound of his work bag hitting the floor.

I'm washing the dishes when I feel his arms wrap around my waist, and I sink back into his touch with a content sigh.

"Did you have fun with the girls?" He says against the skin of my neck, his lips pursing and dropping a small kiss to my neck as I nod in reply.

"Good. Sorry I was so late coming home, got held up doing paperwork."

I shrug, and Peeta stands up to his full height. His hands run across my stomach until they're cupping my hips, and he squeezes gently before walking over to the fridge and grabbing a bottle of coke. After a few generous gulps, he returns it and then turns to offer me a tired smile.

"I'm going to head to bed. Are you going to be long?"

"I'll be two minutes." I reply quietly.

He frowns, and I can tell he's trying to read my mood. Although we haven't discussed what happened at work today, he knows me well enough by now to know when there's something on my mind.

When I climb into bed a few minutes later, Peeta is already beneath the covers and waiting for me. I throw a leg over his and run my toes along the muscle lining his calf as my head falls heavily onto his shoulder. His thick fingers are running through my hair, and my eyes fall closed of their own accord.

"Are you sure you're ok?" He asks eventually. His voice is deep, and I feel his chest rumble as he speaks. He's tired, and I can hear the concern in his voice.

"I'm fine." I say eventually, turning my head slightly to press a kiss to his chest. "Just had a rough day."

The hand resting on the back of my head moves to instead run up and down my back slowly.

I'm sure he just means the action as a loving gesture, hoping to soothe me with his soft caress. But the feel of his skin against mine sends a rush of heat straight to my abdomen, and I know that even though my mind is a complete mess, my body is fully aware of what it needs right now.

I use the hand resting on his chest to hoist myself up, and I rise to straddle his hips quickly.

My center grinds into him, and he groans deeply as he lifts his head to bring our lips together.

Our clothes are shed quickly; as I rise and fall on top of him, I forget all about work and how difficult it's going to be to walk back through those doors tomorrow to do it all again.

Instead, I lose myself in the sensations that Peeta sends racing through me. I focus on the thumb he has pressed to my clit, and the soft pants against my neck as my movements rush him to a quick release.

His gasp against my collarbone and the feel of him pulsing inside me as he spills into me triggers my own release before I collapse against him breathlessly.

My body feels heavy, and I rest unmoving on top of him until he grabs my hips and shifts me onto the mattress beside him instead. I move my head to rest on his shoulder again, and I'm asleep before he has a chance to ask what's bothering me.

Peeta has to rush out to work first thing the next morning, and I'm surprised to hear a soft knock at the door

as I'm packing my stuff and preparing to do the same.

I check my watch and frown. It's barely 8am, and I have a sixteen hour shift ahead of me. If another set of salesmen or pushy religious folk have found their way into the building again, I'm going to be pissed.

As I make my way to the front door, I spy Peeta's keys to the building on my kitchen counter and roll my eyes. He always manages to forget something when he's in a rush. I pick them up and head over to let him back in.

I smile brightly as I throw the door open, a sarcastic comment about his forgetfulness at the ready.

The smile falls from my face when I see who is actually at my front door, and I feel my heart start to pound in my chest. The keys are slipping from my fingers as my palms begin to sweat, and I consider slamming the door closed.

Before I get the chance to do anything, my guest offers me a guileless smile and ruffles his short, dark hair. The action causes his shirt to lift slightly, and my eyes are flicker down to the small patch of dark hair peeking out of the bottom.

"Hey, Catnip."

The sound of his voice after so long sends shivers down my spine, and I feel my mouth drop open in shock.

I can't formulate enough of a thought to speak and continue to stare dumbly up at him. His grey eyes stare back, and his forehead creases slightly in concern.

"Are you ok?" He asks eventually, a small nervous laugh following his words.

I close my mouth and consider my response.

I should just tell him to leave, that he isn't welcome here.

But before I have a chance to, I hear the elevator doors open as Peeta steps out of them with his eyes fixed on his watch as he makes a beeline straight for us.

No, I most definitely am not ok.

My eyes stayed glue to Peeta as he walks down the hallway. His steps are wide, and he's moving with purpose. He's lifting his cell phone to his ear when he finally looks up at us. A frown forms before he can prevent it, and in my periphery I notice Gale turn to face in his direction too.

I stay silent as Peeta comes to a stop beside me, my eyes still fixed on his. He's talking to his partner, and explaining he'll be a few minutes late; he's also trying to read the situation he's walked into, but I'm not giving him much to work with. His lips twitch into a sad smile, and he turns to look at Gale instead.

My head turns to watch their interaction, and when Peeta offers Gale his hand, my breath catches in my throat. I wasn't ready for the two of them to meet just yet. Or ever, really.

God knows why Gale is here, or how he got my new address. I don't have time to think about it right now because I'm running late as it is, and the two men in the hall in front of me seem to be having some sort of pointless standoff.

Peeta is still smiling politely as Gale shakes his hand, but Gale is pretty much glaring down at him from his superior height. Neither speaks beyond exchanging names, and I can feel the blood rushing through my ears.

Once his hand is released, Peeta turns to me and raises his eyebrows playfully. He must be able to sense how uncomfortable I am right now and doesn't push me to introduce Gale properly.

"Forgot my keys." He says eventually, reaching down and grabbing them from where they hang loosely in my fingers. "I'll call you later." His fingers close around my hand briefly, and before he pulls away, he offers a reassuring squeeze.

He takes a step away before turning back to face me again. I notice that his eyes wander over Gale's imposing form before focusing on me.

"You should get a move on, babe. Don't want to be late for work."

His lips twitch into a smirk when I frown at him before he turns around and walks back to the elevator. He never calls me babe, and he knows how much I hate the nickname, so that was probably for Gale's benefit rather than mine. He waves as the doors close, and then he's gone.

I turn my back on Gale, grab my backpack, throw it over my shoulder, and walk out into the hallway.

"I do need to get to work." I mutter lamely, and for some reason I can't quite meet his eyes.

"Latest squeeze?"

His tone is flippant, and I sigh as I start walking towards the elevator. He follows me so closely that I can feel the heat radiating from his body. As we step into the elevator I make sure to put as much distance between us as possible. I don't have time for the shit he brings with him now, and I'm hoping that he'll take the hint and crawl back to wherever he's been for the last twelve months.

He sighs loudly as the doors close in front of us, and I roll my eyes impatiently. He can never just come out and say what he wants to say. For the entirety of our relationship, and even in the years that followed, I would have to guess what was on his mind and then deal with fallout if I was wrong. Peeta is the opposite. As much as I detest having heart to hearts, I now understand the merit of revealing issues and working through everything together.

"He's not your usual type." Gale tries again when I continue to ignore him.

"Yeah, I don't tend to go for nice guys. Thought I'd try something new."

I speak before I've thought it through, and when I hear Gale chuckle beside me, I know he got what he wanted. My shoulders slump as I sigh. I should have just kept ignoring him, but I don't even want him mentioning Peeta in front of me.

"I was surprised when I saw him here. Your mother never mentioned that you were seeing someone."

This catches my attention too. As far as I was aware, Gale has been in Boston for over a year, working at some prestigious management firm. I'm sure my mother would have thought to mention seeing him when I spoke to her a few days ago, even with how aloof she can be sometimes.

"You spoke to my mother?" I ask.

"Yeah, she said you've kind of dropped off the radar since you started working out here. You should call her more."

I turn towards him with a glare, and he smirks at me again.

"It's none of your business." I snap as the doors open again.

Gale's fingers curl around my wrist, and he stops my attempt at leaving. I'm yanked backwards toward him, and his other hand falls to my hip to steady me. He squeezes softly before I smack my palm into his chest and push him away from me again.

"I want it to be my business, Katniss. I think about you all the time."

His hand is reaching for me again but I step further away. I turn my back on him and walk out of the building without a backwards glance.

My heart is still hammering in my chest, and I feel tears clouding my eyes as I walk to my car. I drop into the seat, and an anguished moan escapes me. The tears start to fall, and I feel myself losing control. He shouldn't still affect me this much after such a long time, and the fact that he has such a profound affect on my mental state makes my frustration peak as the tears fall faster.

I shake my head and wipe my eyes furiously. I don't have time for him today.

My shift goes fairly quickly, and the six hours I'm on call mainly consist of me waiting around the break room by myself. I use the spare time to catch up on the paperwork I've been ignoring and desperately try to make my mind focus on anything besides Gale.

To make matters worse I haven't heard from Peeta all day, which is something that never happens. He's always sending me random little messages through the day to let me know he's thinking of me even though I rarely reply, and today there's been nothing. He's probably waiting for me to tell him who Gale is, but I don't even know what to tell him.

By the time my shift ends at midnight, I'm beyond being frustrated with the situation. It's one thing for Gale to show up and throw me for a loop, but his mere presence has clearly shaken Peeta up too. I can't bare the thought of him having doubts about the two of us right now.

On the drive home, I consider how I'm going to approach the subject with him. Peeta will want to talk this through, and I'm finally going to have to tell him everything I've been avoiding bringing up since we started over.

I steel my nerves in the elevator, and by the time it arrives on our floor I feel my body thrumming with confidence. The two of us are going to be fine. He knows enough to understand that I haven't had the best luck with relationships. He knows me well enough by now to know I'll talk to him in my own time.

So when the doors in front of me open, and I see Gale loitering in the hallway again, I let the anger he evokes within me override my better judgement and storm towards him with purpose. When he notices me, he looks taken aback- his eyes are wide, and his mouth is hanging open loosely.

Within seconds, I've unlocked my apartment and thrown the door open. I walk inside and hear Gale follow me, closing the door softly behind him.

"You have no right to be here."

My voice is low, and I refuse to look at him. I just want to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"I told you...I've missed you."

I scoff and shake my head. My hands are bracing the majority of my weight against the kitchen counter, and my shoulders slump heavily as I sigh deeply.

"You need to leave. Just go...please…"

I hear his footsteps and tense when his hands land on my shoulders. "You need me, Katniss. And I need you, I can't live without you."

I lean back into his touch slightly, and my back comes to rest against his chest. The warmth of his body radiates over me, and I force myself to move away from him. When I finally turn to face him, he's smiling sadly; he almost looks like the young, carefree boy I fell in love with.

But he's not. And he never will be.

Too much has changed between us to ever even consider the possibility of rekindling whatever still exists between us. His hand moves to run through his hair, and I smile at the familiar gesture.

Peeta does the same thing when he's nervous or tired. My smile widens at the thought of him, and I'm reminded of why I was in such a rush to get home in the first place. I remember seeing his car in the parking lot, so I know he's right across the hall, probably waiting for me to come over and explain this whole thing to him.

Now that Gale has made his true intentions clear, I have no patience for him. I should have known when he showed up here out of the blue that this is what he wanted. He'll tell me everything that he should have told me four years ago when he walked out on me. He'll expect me to fall over myself to accommodate him until he loses interest again, because that's what I always used to do.

I can't explain the hold he has over me, or why my body reacts so strongly to his mere presence, but he was there for me when no one else was. I depended on him for too much, and after he left, I felt like I would never be happy again.

He's right. I did need him.

But I don't now.

"I have someone now."

His face twists with disappointment as I speak. But I continue, anyway, because he needs to hear this just as much as I need to say it.

"It's new and it's different, and I don't want it to end."

He scoffs derisively. "When have you ever known what you want?" His voice is low, and I know he's letting his frustration get the best of him. "The only thing you've ever been sure you wanted is _me_."

My mouth falls open of its own accord, and I stare at him dumbly for a long moment. The fact that he has the audacity to make such a foolish claim enrages me.

"Go fuck yourself, Gale."

I end up shouting the words directly in his face, and I know he's shocked at my actions. I am too, I'm never this quick to such outright displays of aggression.

"I'd rather fuck you." He mutters with a smirk. "God Katniss, seeing you like this reminds me of when we were together."

"Oh shut up."

"You remember how good I would make you feel, don't you? You know no one else can touch you the way I can...they can't make you feel the things I make you feel."

I cross my arms over my chest and stare at him defiantly. He looks surprised. Usually a comment like that would lead to us tearing each others' clothes off, and I know he was expecting the same reaction today.

He scoffs when I roll my eyes and takes a step towards me. My neck strains as I look up at him, but I refuse to back away. He's not nearly as imposing as he thinks he is.

"You honestly think Blondie is going to stick around when he realizes the kind of woman you really are?"

"He knows exactly who I am."

"Oh Katniss," He begins softly. "if he knew the real you, he wouldn't want anything to do with you."

My eyes fill with tears, and Gale cups my cheek with his palm. I recoil slightly at his touch, and he exhales noisily through his nose when I step out of his reach.

"But I still want you…"

His hand finds my cheek again, and he draws me closer. My hands land on his chest, and I turn my head to avoid his lips as he leans down to kiss me.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He says loudly as he pulls his hands away from me violently.

I stumble back slightly as he moves away from me and grab the kitchen counter to regain my balance.

"I already asked you to leave…" He cuts me off loudly before I can continue.

"You always say that! You know you don't actually want me to go, so why are you even pretending you do!"

He's pacing back and forth in front of me, and I can see his hands clenching and unclenching in anger.

I jump back in shock as his hand falls heavily on the counter either side of me. He leans forward until his face is inches from mine. His face is set in an angry sneer, and I can feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

"I think you should take a step back."

My head turns rapidly, and I see Peeta standing in my open doorway. I instantly feel my body sag with relief.

Gale takes a step back and glares at Peeta from across the room. He notices the keys in hanging from the lock in the door and then turns back to look at me.

"Fuck off." Gale says acidly. "This is none of your business."

Peeta simply shrugs. "I make it my business when men speak to women like that. Seriously man, I'm really trying to ignore the threatening behavior you've been exhibiting and give you the benefit of the doubt, but you're going to have to leave."

Gale frowns at his words, and then shakes his head with a small chuckle.

"Your beau talks awful big. Not a man of action I take it?"

I turn back to Gale, and this time I'm the one smirking smugly. "He's a cop, actually. So I'd suggest you listen to him."

His face falls, and he takes another step backwards to put more distance between us.

"I guess I'll come back to talk this through when you don't have a booty call arranged."

"Well I live here, so that might be difficult."

Peeta's voice is quiet as he speaks, and he sounds much calmer than I know he must be feeling. There's a deep blush spreading up the back of his neck, and his jaw is clenching as he closely watches Gale grab his bag and make his way to the door.

"I guess I'll catch you another time, Catnip." Gale says over his shoulder before stalking from the room.

I release a deep sigh as soon as he's out of sight and Peeta walks into my apartment and closes the door. I'm pulled into his arms and sink into him heavily. His fingers run through my hair as my arms wrap around his back and pull him closer to me.

"Your ex?" He asks quietly, pressing a soft kiss to my temple.

"Yes." I reply quietly. "He's an ass."

Peeta chuckles quietly. "I can tell."

We're silent for a moment and simply stand there in each other's embrace.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I pull back from his body and reach to push the hair from my face. I nod as I exhale deeply.

"I don't really know where to start."

Peeta shrugs and walks over to my couch, he sits down and pats the cushion next to him.

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." He says as I fall onto the couch next to him. "Might help me out if he shows up again."

I chuckle softly. "I don't think he will…not now that I have a live-in boyfriend." I say pointedly.

He laughs in response and moves a hand to rest on my thigh. "Technically that was the truth! I do live here. Just not, you know, _here_."

I nod and can't help the smile that spreads as he squeezes my thigh gently.

"He does this sometimes, just shows up out of the blue and thinks I'll that if he says the right thing that I'll let him stay with me for a while."

Peeta nods and looks down at his hands. "Why would he do that? I'd never go and ask my exes for anything."

I scoot across the couch and lay my head on his shoulder. His arm quickly lifts to wrap around my shoulders, and I snuggle my body even further into his.

"He does it because he knows I'll say yes."

Peeta's body tenses against me, and I mentally scold myself for the way I answered his question.

"So he treats you like that, and you let him stay here?"

"He's not staying here." I say softly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. "I told him he had to leave…"

"I take it that's when he started yelling. I tried to stay away for as long as possible, but I couldn't just sit across the hall and listen to him speak to you like that."

"Thanks for coming over." My voice is low as I speak, and Peeta shrugs in response. He brings his other arm to wrap around my waist, and I relax into him.

His body is warm and familiar, and I'm so glad he's here with me right now.

"I wanted to hit him when I saw you pinned to that counter. You looked so small next to him, and he seems like the kind of guy who would do something stupid…"

"I'm fine." I whisper against his shirt before lifting my head and repeating the words against his ear.

"If something had happened to you I don't know what I would have done." His voice is thick, and I can tell he's trying to keep his emotions in check. "I'll never let anyone treat you like that again...It's not something I can just sit back and ignore...not when…"

He falls silent and shakes his head quickly. His hand tightens around my hip several times before he pulls it away and rubs his eyes. He's refusing to look at me, and a soft sigh of his name escapes me. When he doesn't react I cup my hand around the back of his head and draw it down to rest against my chest.

His body shakes with a heavy sob and wrap my arms tighter around him. I'm not sure where this is coming from. When I was on my way home I assumed Peeta would be pissed with me for not explaining the situation sooner, I never would have guessed our night would have ended up like this.

My hand moves to cup his jaw, and I wipe the tears from his cheek with my thumb. His head turns slightly into me and I feel his lips purse as he presses a kiss to the inside of my wrist.

"I'm sorry." He mutters quietly. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable by talking about this…"

I lift his head up so he's looking at me and smile sadly.

His eyes are bloodshot, the skin surrounding them is red and puffy, the swelling around his lips suggests he's been chewing them in his anxiety, and I lean down to offer him a brief kiss.

I'm surprised when he deepens it, but respond to his eagerness by parting my lips against his and accepting his tongue into my mouth. There's an urgency to his kiss that isn't usually there and when his hand lands on my shoulder and he pushes me to lie back on the couch I realise things are moving too fast.

I can taste the saltiness of his tears as his tongue caresses the length of mine and pull back hesitantly.

He frowns, and then leans down to kiss me again. Before his lips find mine I turn my head to deny his kiss. Peeta lets out a frustrated grunt before planting insistent kisses down my neck and to my collarbone. I sigh at the sensation of his teeth lightly nipping the skin before I come to my senses again and bring my hands to shoulders to push him away.

As he rises to his knees between my splayed legs I see his shoulders slump in defeat.

"I'm sorry." He says quietly. "I don't blame you for not wanting me right now."

My heart constricts painfully in my chest, and I sit up to bring our faces closer together. My forehead rests against his, and I pause for a moment, enjoying the feel of his warm breath against my still tingling lips as he breathes deeply.

"I always want you." I say softly as my hands begin to run up and down his spine slowly. "But we really need to talk before I let you distract me again."

He nods and drops back onto the cushion behind him. My legs are thrown over his lap and his hands land on my shins.

"So what happened when you broke up with Gale?"

"Well, he was my first boyfriend...and I was absolutely crazy about him. He was a couple of years older than me and he rode a motorcycle…"

Peeta chuckles quietly and then taps my shin gently to urge me to continue.

"I kind of knew him because our dads worked together, so I knew who he was, but after they died we ended up in the same group therapy session." I pause and take a deep breath. "I was really depressed and started acting out. I was skipping classes and hanging out with the wrong kind of people. No one noticed my grades slipping or how withdrawn I'd become...but Gale did."

I watch as Peeta nods slowly. His jaw clenches a couple of times before his eyes move over to meet mine. "You want to stop?"

"No, I'm ok. So basically he made sure I started going to school and studying; when I got into pre-med, he was really excited for me and he would visit me all the time at college-"

"When you said he rode a motorcycle I assumed he was a badboy."

I laugh before I can stop myself. "So did I! But he was just really sweet and was there for me when everyone else seemed to be letting me down. But then he started visiting less and the sweet gestures stopped...eventually he'd just text me and said making the trip wasn't worth it when all he got out of it was an average lay. I barely heard from him after that."

Peeta scoffs and rolls his eyes. "You're not the average lay…"

I feel my cheeks flood with heat again, and I know I'm blushing.

"Well, that's your opinion. But back then hearing it destroyed me. No one had been interested in me before, and I couldn't cope with the way it ended. He blocked my number and deleted me from his Facebook. And I handled it badly…"

"So you decided you only wanted casual relationships?" Peeta guesses.

I nod slowly. "I guess...It was more of a 'if I didn't open myself up to people, then I can't let them hurt me' thought. I cut myself off from all my friends and my family, and threw myself into studying. But whenever I had a spare moment, me and Johanna would go out and pick up guys to bring home. Sometimes for one night, and sometimes for a bit longer."

He grimaces slightly with my confession.

"It took months, but I snapped myself out of my funk and I guess I just realized I didn't need anyone as much as I thought I needed him. And the casual thing was really working for me, even though I knew I was hurting people along the way...It became normal. And I like being wanted by so many people."

He frowns again, but I continue with my story regardless.

"But then Gale would always get back in contact and tell me he'd made a mistake…that he wanted me back and would do anything to make it work...and I always believed him."

"So he just kept breaking your heart all over again?"

"In a way. But I kept letting him when I knew what he was like. I guess maybe I was trying to convince myself that we could be happy again...or maybe I just wanted to show him I was more than an average lay."

Peeta smirks again and squeezes my calf muscle gently. "Which you are." He reaffirms with a wink.

I smile in return and nudge my shoulder into his playfully.

His smile falls suddenly and is replaced by a deep frown. He opens his mouth to speak before closing it several times.

"Would you have slept with him if I hadn't shown up?"

"Oh Peeta." I say quietly, maneuvering around him until I was straddling his lap and cupping his jaw in my hands. "I don't want anyone but you."

"But you said…"

"You need to believe me." I interrupt quietly, kissing his forehead as he sighs softly. "You are everything I need...and you are more than enough for me."

"I'd understand if you still wanted to…"

I narrow my eyes at him and shake my head from side to side. He falls silent and looks up at me questioningly. I take another deep breath and smile widely.

"You are perfect to me, Peeta. I'd never do anything to risk losing you, or hurting you, again."

He smiles up at me and lifts his head for a kiss. This time it's me who deepens it and he relaxes back into the couch beneath him as my tongue enters his mouth.

His hands are roaming over my back until he cups my ass and draws me closer to him. Our clothes are gone in a matter of minutes and my hand curls around his growing erection, stroking it eagerly as he thrusts into my touch. I can feel moisture pooling in my centre and know that I'm more than ready for him.

But I want to show him how much he means to me, and do something entirely for his benefit first. Since we officially started dating, Peeta always makes sure I finish first, and it's as frustrating as it is noble.

I drop to my knees on the floor and smile up at him as my hand continues to stroke his shaft. His hand falls to rest on my shoulder before trailing to the back of my head. He doesn't push me forward like I was hoping he would, but he simply rests his hand there heavily as he watches me closely. He sighs happily as my mouth wraps around the head of his dick, and I start bobbing up and down enthusiastically.

Before Peeta, I never used to understand when my friends would describe how turned on they got by pleasuring their boyfriends this way. I didn't mind doing it, but I thought of it as a necessary evil more than an act to be mutually enjoyed. But watching the muscles in Peeta's stomach flex as I work over him, and the way his face flushes to a delicious shade of pink as he strains to watch as much of his cock disappearing into my mouth as possible, has me reaching between my own thighs to circle my throbbing clit.

I know the moment Peeta has seen me touching myself, because his hand tightens to a fist in my hair and his hips buck forward slightly. He starts rambling about how he should be the one touching me and that he wants to feel how wet I am for him. I ignore him for a while and continue to drag my lips up and down him, sucking harder and offering small tongue flicks to his glans in the way I've learned he likes as I pull away from him.

His hand moves to cup my jaw and his thumb wipes away the trail of saliva on my chin.

"Please Katniss...please just...I need to be inside you."

My hand is still wrapped around the base of his shaft and I pump it slowly several times as I watch his chest rise and fall with heavy breaths.

"But I wanted to do this for you."

He groans loudly as he leans forward to place his hands under my armpits, allowing him to hoist me on top of him as he falls back against the couch heavily.

"Next time." He mutters as his lips find mine. My protest is lost as his tongue slips easily into myself and I lose myself in the sensations he evokes within me instead.

His hands run down my stomach to cup my mound as he kisses me and his fingers easily slip through the wetness there until he is pushing two inside me. My hips press down to take them in deeper and he pulls back from our kiss to watch me as I move. His eyes focus on my face and occasionally drop down to my breasts before drifting lower and watching his fingers move inside me.

"How do you want me?"

My eyes snap open and my hips come to a stop at the familiar question. It's been a long time since Peeta last said them to me but I can tell by the smile on his face that he remembers uttering those exact words to me the first time we slept together.

The answer back then had been shallow and inconsiderate, and though he hadn't complained at the time I know that hearing about which position I'd prefer is not what he has in mind right now.

"However I can have you." I answer slowly. "For as long as I can have you."

"You have me." He replies, guiding my body to lie down on the couch. My legs are splayed wide and he easily moves between them, his hands run from my hips down my thighs until he's grasping the backs of my knees and bringing my legs to rest over his shoulders.

He presses a soft kiss to the inside of my ankle as he guides himself into me and I lift my hips to allow him to sink in as deep as he can.

Our movements are unhurried and Peeta's eyes are focused on mine as he thrusts steadily into me. A hand finds my breast and squeezes gently and I arch further into his touch with a content sigh. All I can hear is the sound of Peeta's heavy breathing as his thrusts start to increase in force, he's still moving slowly but there's an edge to his movements that tells me he's getting close.

I watch as he licks a thumb and brings it to circle my clit quickly. He knows my body perfectly and it's exactly what I need.

My hands move to land on his hips and he starts to move more quickly. His eyes are focused on where we're joined as he begins to lose his rhythm slightly. I gasp as he drops my legs from his shoulders and leans over me instead. My legs wrap around his hips as we move together and the change in his movements has me racing towards my climax.

He grunts against my shoulder as I feel him spill inside me and the almost clumsy thrusts he offers, working with the thumb on my clit are enough to send me over the edge.

His body is heavy as it rests against mine. He is still inside me and I can feel his cock twitching every now and then as he catches his breath.

When he lifts up to rest on his elbow and look down at me I'm taken aback by the determined expression on his face and the fact that his eyes are clear and focused.

"I'm not going anywhere." He says deeply, dropping a kiss to my lips. "You don't have to worry about that."

I can do nothing but nod in reply and return his kiss when he lowers his face to mine again.

He pulls back and looks down at me again. My eyes are drawn to the crinkles at the corner of his eyes and I find myself smiling up at him. His tongue peeks out to wet his lips and I feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"I love you."

His mouth drops open at my confession and so does mine. I wasn't planning to say it just yet, even though I know it's been true for a while.

He's silent for a long time. Looking down at me quizzically. But then he laughs in disbelief and the sound, couple with the look of pure joy on his face makes me relax again.

"I love you." He says sincerely, his voice taking on an edge that implies he can't quite believe what he's just heard. "I love you so much."

**A/N - Sorry for the delay with updating! Real life has gotten hectic lately and I'm struggle to find time to write. **

**Hopefully you all enjoyed learning a bit more about Katniss' past.**

**Also, a big thank you to my beta everlarkcheesebuns for her hard work with editing this monster of a chapter!**


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